The United States announced it fined German airline Lufthansa $4 million on Tuesday, Oct. 15, for allegedly discriminating against Jewish passengers. The fine, which the U.S. Transportation Department says is the largest it has ever leveled against an airline for civil rights violations, stems from an incident in 2022 where more than 120 travelers were not allowed to board a flight.
The travelers were in Frankfurt, Germany, following a flight from New York. The U.S Transportation Department said that most of the people turned away by the airline “wore distinctive garb typically worn by Orthodox Jewish men,” but many did not know each other or travel together. Lufthansa, at the time, apologized for the incident.
The Jewish passengers were among 131 others who were flying to Budapest to attend an annual memorial event to honor an orthodox rabbi. They told investigators that the airline treated them as a group and refused to let any of them board over allegations of misconduct by a few passengers.
Flight attendants reportedly told passengers on the first flight about a mask requirement and not to gather near aisles or emergency exits.
The flight crew did not say which passengers did not obey instructions, arguing that it was because of the high number of violations, and because many switched seats.
The captain of the first flight called security over the alleged violations and it caused 128 Jewish passengers to miss their connecting flight.
The U.S. Department of Transportation asserted it had a right to investigate the incident because the flight originated from the United States and Lufthansa’s foreign air carrier permit requires it to obey U.S. laws.
Lufthansa will only end up paying $2 million of the fine because it has already agreed to compensate most passengers involved in the incident with $2 million, which will reportedly cut the fine from the United States in half.
