German carrier Lufthansa has agreed to pay a $4 million (€3.67 million) fine for denying boarding to Jewish passengers, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) announced. 

Lufthansa prohibited 128 Jewish passengers, many of whom were dressed in traditional Orthodox Jewish clothing, from getting on their connecting flight in Germany in May 2022. The passengers were flying from John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK), with a layover in Frankfurt, Germany (FRA), before heading to their final destination Budapest, Hungary (BUD). The department received more than 40 discrimination complaints from Jewish passengers. 

In a press release, published on October 15, 2024, the DOT said the penalty was the largest it had ever issued to an airline for civil rights violations.  

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