United Airlines was fined $2 million on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation for its failure to provide proper accommodations for passengers with disabilities.
According to the DOT, the treatment of passengers with disabilities by America’s second-largest airline was investigated following “a significant increase in the number of disability-related complaints.” Among the allegations, the airline neglected to return wheelchairs to passengers in a timely manner or to assist passengers navigating through its airports and, in some cases, wheelchairs returned to passengers were even damaged.
“We expect this to greatly improve our ability to have wheelchairs where they need to be, when they need to be there, so that our customers can get on their way home or to their next destination with ease,” said United senior vice president of airport operations Jon Roitman in a statement.
