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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsA disabled traveler’s lawsuit against American Airlines follows reported check-in problems and the alleged mishandling of her custom powered wheelchair on a June 2025 trip from Paris to Chicago. The often-repeated $216,000 figure is associated in secondary coverage with a Montreal Convention liability limit; the sources reviewed do not establish that it is the amount she demanded in her complaint.
What the traveler alleges happened
Trade coverage reports that Kelsey Brickl tried to check in online before traveling with her family from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Chicago O’Hare on June 12, 2025. The reports say incorrect passenger titles led to a system lockout. Brickl uses a custom powered wheelchair, and she said having to resolve the issue at the airport would add difficulty and disrupt disability-related travel planning. These are allegations and accounts, not findings by a court. Travel Daily Media and Paddle Your Own Kanoo reported the account.
According to the reports, Brickl sought help from an airline Complaint Resolution Official (CRO) but did not receive immediate access. After the flight landed at O’Hare, her wheelchair was allegedly sent to baggage claim rather than brought to the aircraft door. In her own account, Brickl described remaining on board while seeking the chair’s return. The reviewed sources do not include an independently verified American Airlines response to these specific allegations.
Why reports cite $216,000—and what is not confirmed
Secondary coverage connects $216,000 to a Montreal Convention liability limit, but Brickl publicly disputed reports that presented that figure as the amount she sought. The sources reviewed do not establish the exact damages demand in the complaint. The figure should therefore be understood as a reported treaty-limit reference, not a verified amount demanded or awarded.
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The operative complaint and an authoritative court docket were not available in the reviewed sources. That means the precise claims pleaded, current case status, damages requested, and any response from American Airlines cannot be confirmed here.
What disability protections say about airline assistance
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) says the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) prohibits U.S. and foreign airlines from discriminating against passengers on the basis of disability. The department’s rules for air travel, 14 CFR Part 382, set standards of service. DOT says airlines must make a CRO available in a timely manner, including by phone; its fuller explanation says a CRO must be available at each airport the airline serves while it is operating there. See DOT’s Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights.
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Those general rules do not decide whether American Airlines complied in Brickl’s case. Nor do the reviewed sources establish that federal law guarantees online check-in as a universal, standalone right. Brickl’s clarification in contemporaneous coverage framed online check-in as a necessary accommodation in her circumstances, rather than a right that automatically applies to every traveler.
Where to seek help during a trip
- At the airline: Ask for the CRO if you need help resolving a disability-related issue. DOT says a CRO can be made available by phone as well as at the airport.
- With DOT: The department’s disability page explains how to contact its aviation consumer disability hotline and submit a complaint. The hotline and complaint process are separate from the airline’s CRO. See DOT’s disability assistance and complaint information.
American’s separate wheelchair-assistance enforcement history
Brickl’s allegations are separate from DOT’s earlier enforcement action against American Airlines. In an October 23, 2024 consent order, DOT found numerous instances from 2019 through 2023 in which the airline failed to provide adequate wheelchair assistance; some incidents resulted in injury. The department described failures that included “untimely assistance, unsafe physical assistance, and undignified assistance” and assessed a $50 million civil penalty. The order also said passengers reported thousands of wheelchairs and scooters damaged or delayed. These agency findings concern the airline’s past wheelchair assistance, not the disputed events in Brickl’s lawsuit. Read DOT’s 2024 announcement.
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DOT amended the penalty’s payment terms on December 9, 2025. The amended order describes an original requirement for $25 million in payments to the U.S. Treasury and directs about $16.8 million in alternative disability-related benefits. That includes $16.1 million for wheelchair-handling equipment and systems and a $700,000 credit for compensation paid to affected passengers in 2024 and 2025. These are terms of the agency order, not payments to Brickl. Read DOT’s amended order announcement.
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