Post 9/11 Treatment of Passengers Addressed

The Aviation Enforcement Office of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has reached a settlement with American Airlines regarding its post-Sept. 11, 2001, treatment of certain air travelers who were or were perceived to be of Arab, Middle Eastern or South Asian descent and/or Muslim. The settlement was approved by DOT Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Burton S. Kolko on Feb. 27.  The settlement will become final March 29 unless a petition for review is filed or DOT takes review on its own initiative.
 
"Concerns about aviation security in the days following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks do not justify illegal discrimination against passengers," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta.  "The Department of Transportation will continue to investigate these kinds of allegations to assure all passengers in our nation’s transportation system are treated fairly and equally."

The settlement order finds that American acted in a manner inconsistent with federal laws that prohibit discrimination and requires American to provide civil rights training to its employees over the next three years at a total cost of at least $1.5 million.

DOT’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings instituted an investigation of American for security-related civil rights violations as a result of complaints from passengers alleging that they were removed from American flights following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because of their perceived ethnic and/or religious background. On April 25, 2003, the Enforcement Office filed an enforcement complaint in which it charged American with violating federal anti-discrimination laws. The case was scheduled for a hearing before a department ALJ. As a result of the settlement, the ALJ has canceled the hearing and terminated the enforcement proceeding.     

According to the terms of the agreement, American Airlines, without admitting violations, is ordered to cease and desist from future violations of federal anti-discrimination statutes.  American is also ordered to provide civil rights training over the next three years to its employees who come in contact with the public, in particular flight and cabin crewmembers and passenger service representatives. In addition, American has agreed to share its training materials with DOT, which is developing its own technical assistance manual and model training program to help air carriers ensure that their employees understand how to avoid unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion and sex.

This is the second settlement by the Enforcement Office regarding discrimination against airline passengers due to race, religion, national origin or ancestry. On Nov. 19, 2003, the department issued a consent order reflecting a settlement with United Airlines stemming from allegations that it had unlawfully removed passengers from flights or prevented them from boarding in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws. Documents relating to the proposed settlement -- docket number OST-2003-15046 -- may be obtained on the Internet.

FMI: http://dms.dot.gov