By The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has levied its largest-ever fine against Germany’s national airline, Lufthansa, imposing a $4 million penalty for alleged discrimination against a group of Jewish passengers. This unprecedented action stems from an incident on May 3, 2022, when 128 Jewish passengers were denied boarding on a connecting flight from Frankfurt to Budapest.
The incident began on a flight from New York City to Frankfurt, where the aircraft’s captain alerted Lufthansa security about passengers allegedly failing to follow cabin crew instructions, including refusing to return to their seats and congregating in aisles and emergency exit rows. However, the DOT’s investigation revealed that upon landing in Frankfurt, Lufthansa crew members had not identified any specific passengers for misbehavior.
Despite this lack of individual identification, a Lufthansa security duty manager flagged at least 123 passengers’ itineraries as “High Priority Comment.” Significantly, every flagged passenger was Jewish, many of whom were wearing distinctive clothing associated with Orthodox Jewish men. The airline treated these passengers as a single group, although most were not traveling together and did not know each other.
Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, speaking to NBC News, characterized the airline’s actions as “classic antisemitism.” She expressed shock at the incident, stating, “Unbelievable. [When] I first heard it, I said, ‘Oh, this must be wrong. Someone must be misreporting this.’ And then, of course, it turned out to be precisely right – and worse than we even thought.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized the significance of the penalty, saying, “No one should face discrimination when they travel, and today’s action sends a clear message to the airline industry that we are prepared to investigate and take action whenever passengers’ civil rights are violated.” He added that the DOT would continue to push the industry to treat passengers with fairness and dignity.
In response to the DOT’s findings, Lufthansa stated that it has zero tolerance for any form of religious or ethnic-based discrimination, including antisemitism. The airline emphasized its “robust and fruitful relationship with the Jewish community around the world, especially the United States,” and noted that it remains a trusted choice for members of the Orthodox Jewish community for travel throughout Europe and to Israel.
The airline has expressed regret over the incident and has publicly apologized numerous times. However, the severity of the fine underscores the seriousness with which the DOT views such discriminatory actions.
the-sun.com
