According to reports from the Transportation Department, AirTran Airways has been issued a $500,000 civil penalty for violating rules about accommodating disabled travelers. The government said that the airline had violated clear rules that govern the assistance of giving help to passengers that need help when trying to board.

The airline apparently frequently failed to provide an adequate written response to passenger complaints on these matters. Reports also suggest that the airline failed to properly categorize disability complaints it filed with the government.

Christopher White, a spokesman for AirTran, said that the company is constantly striving to find ways to improve its service and implementing several initiatives to enhance its ability to meet the needs of special passengers. He went on to note that, over the past three years, AirTran served more than 920,000 passenger with disabilities. Less than half of 1 percent of these customers had reported any kind of problem with the airline to the Department of Transportation.

The Transportation Department said up to $60,000 of the penalty can be used to establish a council that will help the airline comply with federal disability rules. This money can also be used to hire a manager to oversee accommodations for people with disabilities. Another $140,000 of the money can be use to develop an automated wheelchair tracking system at AirTran’s major hubs within one year.

Mr White also said that the overwhelming majority of issues reported by disabled passengers is in relation to the quick availability of wheelchairs. The company is working to correct this by implementing a real time wheelchair tracking system at its Atlanta, Milwaukee, Baltimore and Orlando hubs.