The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently fined three carriers for violating airline consumer protections rules.
American Airlines was fined $250,000 for failure to process refunds in a timely manner in 2015. The delay was caused by problems with systems integration, American said.
Delta Air Lines was fined $200,000 for underreporting the number of mishandled baggage claims from 2012 to 2015. It told the DOT that if it reported all claims, it would fall in ranking among carriers, the department said.
Delta was notified last year that its reporting was not compliant and it updated its policy, the carrier said.
“The underreporting made Delta’s ranking in the Department’s Air Travel Consumer Report seem better than it was at various times,” the DOT said.
Frontier Airlines was fined $400,000 for several violations. The carrier did not provide proper wheelchair assistance for the disabled nor did it provide adequate response to complaints on disabled access. It also did not seek volunteers before removing passengers involuntarily from flights, failed to adequately compensate removed passengers and did not give them written notice of their rights.
Frontier said it remains committed to complying with DOT rules and that the airline will update its ineffective operating procedures and introduce a new reporting system.