American Airlines Faces Major Disability Lawsuit Over Online Check In Failure

Published on August 9, 2025 |

Kelsey Brickl, who hails from Illinois, is taking American Airlines to tribunal for $216,000 because of an alleged glitch successful online check-in systems for her formation from Paris to Chicago. The lawsuit raises important issues of whether nan Montreal Convention’s disablement accessibility provisions person been violated, since Brickl is stating that nan grievance caused undue affectional and beingness harm because nan strategy worked against group pinch disabilities. The lawsuit brings to nan forefront nan interest that aerial recreation for abnormal individuals is not only riddled pinch difficulties, but that airlines person ineligible obligations nether world rule to make aerial recreation accessible and adequately accommodate abnormal individuals.

After nan family had to cheque successful astatine nan airport, Brickl, who suffers from terrible mobility, cardiac, and neuromuscular disabilities, stated that nan family faced difficulties completing nan check-in process. The lawsuit against American Airlines besides posits that nan system’s inability to supply accessible online check-in systems is simply a usurpation that is adjudicated arsenic an infringement of American law, arsenic specified a strategy is simply a law correct for abnormal individuals.

The Aftermath: Travel Foregone Conclusion – Airline Inconvenience Winds Up In Court

The title revenge against United Airlines connected July 17, 2025, encapsulates nan incident pinch Bitzl connected July 22, 2025, wherever she was denied boarding for a 5th conception owed to nan check-in systems’ “selective” behaviour towards “passenger” frames and ignoring nan titles property successful rider metadata stored. When her family went to cheque successful for nan formation to Chicago, nan online check-in strategy preassigned check-in titles “mister” and “missus” for some Brickl and her son, and nan boarding passes, “mr, miss, and kiddo” for nan son. The strategy barred them from completing nan check-in arsenic a lockout system owed to pre-designated titles. As a result, nan family was forced to cheque successful in personification astatine nan Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.

The inability to pre-emptively cheque successful caused Brickl to person to push her measurement done nan airdrome to nan check-in kiosk. The clash caused connected apical of not being capable to pre-emptively cheque successful caused her utmost fatigue and disrupted her aesculapian routines. Moreover, her pre-scheduled disablement arrangements were astatine consequence of not being provided for. When she reached retired to nan customer support, she was informed that nan online check-in for world flights was unresponsive for immoderate periods, and owed to nary resources, nary workaround was available.

The Legal Arguments: Online Check-In arsenic a Legal Right

The lawsuit stresses that online check-in accessibility is peculiarly important for those needing aesculapian and disablement recreation planning. American Airlines’ online check-in nonaccomplishment strategy is alleged to person contravened nan Montreal Convention, which regulates world aerial recreation and nan authorities of passengers. Article 17 of nan normal states that location are definite accidents which are compensable and that nan hose whitethorn beryllium liable for, if location is immoderate boarding, flight, aliases deplaning linked to disablement, injury, aliases affectional distress. Her ineligible representatives asseverate that nan deficiency of online check-in work constituted a breach of her authorities owed to a deficiency of check-in work nether nan online provisions of nan airline’s online services.

Upon her introduction to Chicago O’Hare, Brickl further reported issues that added to nan online check-in complication for her. In clear usurpation of national regulation, her wheelchair was not brought to nan craft door, but alternatively sent to baggage claim. As a consequence of nan hold successful providing her chair, she was incapable to get disconnected nan craft and suffered a batch of affectional distress. Reportedly, Brickl refused to get disconnected nan airplane until her wheelchair was brought to nan door, and successful truthful doing, she did not make a permissive nether ineligible authorities regularisation to her disablement rights.

The Psychological and Physical Consequences of nan Incident

The suit describes really nan incident distressed Brickl emotionally and incurred beingness consequences arsenic well. She has explained really she went done “physical pain, humiliation, affectional trauma, and documented aesculapian decompensation” successful nan weeks that followed nan incident. Lack of entree to a wheelchair arsenic a consequence of her boarding an airplane exacerbated her aesculapian condition, and nan affectional load added to her already vulnerable health. The suit describes really her regular aesculapian care, which she followed methodically, was disrupted and really that disruption successful nan regular led her to further deteriorate, which successful move demanded much analyzable attraction aft nan incident.

Brickl’s lawyers allege that nan hose not only caused inconvenience to her, but besides caused wounded done actions that contravened and violated her authorities that are protected federally nether nan Montreal Convention arsenic good arsenic U.S. disablement laws. The claim, which seeks damages for aesculapian and affectional injury, has highlighted nan expanding request for airlines to incorporated systems, specified arsenic online check-in, that meet nan accessibility requirements for group pinch disabilities.

American Airlines’ Response and Industry Implications

American Airlines has not provided further comments astir nan lawsuit. However, nan institution has accepted nan incident’s occurrence and confirmed that nan rider was assisted aliases fixed thief astatine nan airport. The hose besides apologized to different passengers connected nan formation for immoderate inconvenience. This lawsuit, connected nan different hand, could group a captious precedent astir nan obligations of airlines pertaining to nan online check-in systems.

Airlines person agelong been obligated to accommodate passengers pinch disabilities, but Brickl’s suit whitethorn service to reply whether a deficiency of online services, specified arsenic online check-in, provides a usurpation of these obligations. The determination for this lawsuit whitethorn group a early ineligible precedent connected really airlines supply for abnormal passengers successful this integer era.

A Historical Overview of Violations of Disability Rights and Continuing Concerns

This lawsuit originates pinch American Airlines’ troubling history of matters related to disablement concerns. In October 2024, nan United States Department of Transportation (DOT) slapped American Airlines pinch a hefty $50 cardinal good for its blatant negligence successful nan proviso of wheelchair services and nan assistance to passengers pinch disabilities from 2019 to 2023. These violations, alongside others, person motivated defense groups for persons pinch disabilities, specified arsenic nan Paralyzed Veterans of America, which has historically worked to amended nan curen of abnormal passengers successful nan hose industry.

Although American Airlines has tried to amended its services by automating nan tagging of wheelchairs and compensating for nan batteries and different mobility devices that are not serviced properly, advocates judge that nan hose has not gone acold capable to thief them. American Airlines has not been capable to lick nan problem of nan online check-in system, illustrating that location is simply a request for stronger oversight, compliance with, and enforcement of disablement laws.

The Wider Consequences of Compliance pinch Disability successful Airlines

The Brickl lawsuit is situated wrong nan larger chat of nan scope of compliance pinch disabilities successful nan hose industry. There is scant lawsuit rule connected what qualifies arsenic a compensable wounded for abnormal passengers pinch nan airlines settling astir Montreal Convention claims retired of court. This litigation whitethorn resoluteness nan mobility of accessible check-in exertion (“gap”) and its compliance pinch national disablement law.

Accessibility for each passengers, including those pinch beingness disabilities, poses nan top situation arsenic airlines proceed to physically and technologically upgrade their systems. The Brickl lawsuit whitethorn fortify requirements for accessibility compliance for websites serving physically abnormal passengers while establishing broader ineligible authorities for abnormal travelers beyond nan hose industry.

Conclusion: The Future of Travel for People pinch Disabilities

The issues raised successful nan American Airlines lawsuit airs basal issues connected nan scope and obligations of nan Montreal Convention and American disablement rule concerning nan authorities and needs of abnormal passengers successful nan hose recreation continuum.

As nan litigation develops, it stands to logic that location are captious ineligible precedents that will beryllium established that will contour nan early of aerial recreation access, guaranteeing that hose systems and recreation logistics encompassing nan flights are optimized for users pinch disabilities, astatine each level. The hose manufacture must cautiously see nan measures it puts successful spot to guarantee that each traveler, irrespective of their disabilities, has nan correct to entree specialized services and ineligible safeguards offered by nan industry.

(Source: Kelsey Brickl, American Airlines, Chicago District Court, U.S. Department of Transportation, Paralyzed Veterans of America)