German air carrier Lufthansa was fined $4 million Tuesday by the U.S. government for preventing 128 passengers wearing Jewish garb from making a connecting flight to Hungary.

The penalty is the largest levied against an airline for violating passengers’ civil rights, the Transportation Department said in a release.

On May 3, 2022, 131 passengers left John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for Frankfurt Airport in Germany on Lufthansa Flight 401, ultimately traveling to Hungary for an annual commemoration of a deceased Orthodox rabbi.

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The passengers in question were mostly men wearing the white dress shirts, black hats, jackets, pants and dress shoes typically associated with ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, the DOT noted in a consent order for the fine. 

Passengers interviewed by the DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection also mentioned that they were Jewish.

Lufthansa flight attendants claimed that some passengers on Flight 401  didn’t return to their seats when prompted, though they couldn’t point out any individuals who didn’t follow crew instructions, according to the consent order.

The pilot on Flight 401 told a Lufthansa security manager about the alleged passenger misbehavior and put holds on all passengers due to connect to Lufthansa Flight 1334 from Frankfurt to Budapest and who were traveling in groups of two or more.

Lufthansa staff found it impractical to sort through the passengers to figure out who failed to comply with crew instructions on Flight 401, so prevented 128 people from boarding Flight 1334, their only commonality being that they were Jewish.

Flight 1334 left without them, and the passengers left behind were either rebooked to Budapest by Lutfhansa or made their own alternate arrangements, according to the consent order. The DOT received over 40 complaints from the passengers.

The airline settled with most of the passengers in 2022, according to The Associated Press. Lufthansa told the news outlet that it disputes the DOT’s assertion that it discriminated against the passengers for being Jewish, but acknowledged “errors in company procedure and communications.”

The airline told CNN that it has cooperated with the DOT in its investigation and that it “is dedicated to being an ambassador of goodwill, tolerance, diversity and acceptance.”