Lufthansa Fined $4 Million for Violating 128 Jewish Passengers’ Civil Rights

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo of a Lufthansa airplane.Photo:Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty

Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty

German airline Lufthansa has been fined $4 million after “prohibiting” 128 Jewish passengers from boarding a flight, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced.

According to the DOT’s Tuesday, Oct. 15press release, the airline received the penalty “for discriminating against Jewish passengers” traveling from New York City with a stop in Frankfurt, Germany, and a final destination of Budapest, Hungary, in May 2022.

Photo of the tail of a Lufthansa airplane.Michaela STACHE/getty

Michaela STACHE/getty

While “many” passengers did not know each other and were not traveling together, the DOT notes that the captain alerted Lufthansa security during the first flight that “some passengers were failing to follow crew instructions and were connecting to another flight to Budapest.”

The agency states that while Lufthansa later failed to identify any of the passengers who failed to follow crewmember instructions, “the alert to security resulted on a hold being placed on over 100 passengers' tickets with a final destination of BUD, which then prevented passengers from boarding their next scheduled flight at FRA.”

Photo of a Lufthansa check-in banner.Michaela STACHE/getty

“All of the passengers with a hold placed on their ticket were Jewish,” said the DOT.

Photo of a Lufthansa plane.Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty

Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Lufthansa is dedicated to being an ambassador of goodwill, tolerance, diversity, and acceptance,” the airline added.

source: people.com