The Department of Transportation slapped a record-high $4 million fine on Germany’s flagship airline, Lufthansa, for discriminating against more than 100 Jewish passengers during a May 2022 trip.

The penalty, the largest fine the department has ever levied against an airline for civil rights violations, stems from a flight that was traveling to Budapest from New York City, with a layover at Frankfurt. The Transportation Department said that based on the “alleged misconduct” of some passengers on the first flight, the airline blocked 128 Jewish passengers, many of whom were wearing “distinctive garb typically worn by Orthodox Jewish men,” from boarding the connecting flight and completing their travels to Budapest.

At the time of the incident, it was reported that the “misconduct” on the first flight was due to several Jewish passengers allegedly refusing to wear masks, in violation of the airline’s policy. Passengers on the flight told the Transportation Department that they were treated and penalized as a single group by the airline despite many of them not knowing each other.

“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,” the Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, said in a statement. “From cracking down on long tarmac delays to ensuring passengers are properly refunded, our department has strengthened our enforcement efforts to hold airlines accountable for their treatment of passengers, and we will continue to push the industry to serve passengers with the fairness and dignity they deserve.” 

More than 40 discrimination complaints were filed by Jewish passengers in relation to the flight, the department said.

“During the first flight, the captain alerted Lufthansa security that some passengers were failing to follow crew instructions and were connecting to another flight to Budapest, although Lufthansa later failed to identify any one passenger who failed to follow crewmember instructions,” the Transportation Department said. The security alert resulted in holds on more than 100 passengers’ tickets — all of whom were Jewish — blocking them from boarding the next leg of their trip. 

In a statement to the Sun, a representative of Lufthansa said that the airline is committed to “being an ambassador of goodwill, tolerance, diversity, and acceptance.”

“Following the May 2022 incident involving our Jewish passengers, Lufthansa has fully cooperated with the DOT throughout its review process,” the representative said, adding that the airline has partnered with the American Jewish Committee and collaborated to create a “first-of-its kind training program in the airline industry for our managers and employees to address antisemitism and discrimination.”
At the time of the incident, the airline apologized, saying it regretted that “the large group was denied boarding rather than limiting it to the non-compliant guests” and adding that it has “zero tolerance for racism, antisemitism and discrimination of any type.”