Three black men have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines claiming they were victims of “flagrant and egregious racial discrimination” after being kicked off a flight. Above, American Airlines planes are seen at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in June 2018.
Kiichiro Sato/AP
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Kiichiro Sato/AP
Three black men have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines alleging they were victims of “flagrant and egregious racial discrimination” after being kicked off a flight.
IN a lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday, three plaintiffs – Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Xavier Veal – say they and five other black male passengers were removed from an American Airlines flight from Phoenix to the airport. John F. Kennedy International in New York in January “ for no justifiable reason, solely based on their race.”
The eight men did not know each other and did not sit together on the flight.
According to the lawsuit, an American Airlines representative approached each of the eight men and asked them to leave the plane and return to the gate to be rebooked.
“In fact, when they arrived at the jet bridge, they saw several other Black men being taken off the plane as well. In fact, it appears to Plaintiffs that the Americans ordered all black male passengers on Flight 832 to leave the plane,” the lawsuit states.
Once all eight men had left the plane, they finally discovered the reason behind their removal – a staff member had told the men that someone on the plane had complained about a body odor. can. According to the lawsuit, Jackson, Joseph and Veal said they were not told they had body odor.
When the three men pointed out that they were being treated unfairly because of their race, an American Airlines employee said she “disagreed,” the lawsuit said.
All eight men were finally allowed back on the plane nearly an hour later after the airline determined there were no more flights to JFK airport that evening.
“The plaintiffs then had to reboard the plane and endure the stares of predominantly white passengers who viewed them as the cause of the significant delay. They endured the entire flight home and the entire incident was traumatic, unpleasant, frightening, humiliating and degrading,” the lawsuit states.
In a statement to NPR, American Airlines said it takes all allegations of discrimination “very seriously” and wants customers to have a “positive experience” when they fly with the airline.
“Our teams are currently investigating the matter as the statements do not reflect our core values or purpose of caring for people,” the airline said.
Jackson, Joseph and Veal say what happened to them was “wrong” and they say the experience of flying with the airline left them embarrassed and humiliated.
“Imagine a flight attendant asking every white person to leave the plane for complaining about a white person. That will never happen. But that’s what happened to us,” the three men said. “There is no other explanation than the color of our skin… this is clearly discrimination.”
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of recent incidents in which the airline has faced accusations of racial discrimination.
In February, a Chicago woman said she was discriminated against after a flight attendant allegedly confronted her after she used the plane’s first-class restroom.
Pamela Hill-Veal, who is black, said that when she and her family were flying first class on February 10 from Chicago to Phoenix, one of the American Airlines flight attendants stopped her as she returned to her seat – and accused her of slamming the bathroom door.
“The flight attendant stopped me as I was returning to my seat and told me that I had slammed the bathroom door and that I wouldn’t do that again because of the passengers,” Hill-Veal said in an interview with NPR. sleeping on the plane.” She said she never slammed the door.
In a statement to NPR, American Airlines said it reached out to Hill-Veal to learn more about her experience.
“We strive to ensure that every customer has a positive travel experience and we take all complaints of discrimination very seriously,” the airline said.
When asked if it was considering changes in training or policies for its employees, the airline did not respond.
In 2023, the company came under fire after two separate incidents – one involving track star Sha’Carri Richardson And another involves musician David Ryan Harris – Make headlines.
Richardson was forced off a US flight after an argument with a flight attendant. Richardson said the flight attendant harassed her and tried to threaten her, Axios said reported.
In a statement to Axios, the airline said it investigates all complaints of discrimination, adding: “American Airlines strives to provide a positive and welcoming experience for all with us and we take allegations of discrimination very seriously.”
And that September, Harris, who was traveling with his two mixed-race children, said he had stop and ask at Los Angeles International Airport after an American Airlines flight attendant suspected him of child trafficking.
After the incident, Harris posted a statement which he said was given to him by the Americans: “We and our flight attendants realized that our policies regarding suspected human trafficking had not been followed and through training.” training and counseling… our flight attendants realized that their interactions and observations did NOT meet the criteria that human trafficking was occurring.
Concerns about discrimination have dogged Americans for years. In 2017, the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, gave advice warns black travelers to be cautious when flying on American Airlines.
The airline’s president responded by saying the company does not “and will not tolerate any form of discrimination” and the advisory was lifted the following year.
Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, told NPR that the details in the latest lawsuit filed are “disturbing.” He encouraged the Black community to continue to “stand up and speak out” against discrimination.
“Let’s be clear — traveling while black should not be viewed as a different insult and disruption,” Johnson said. While we recognize a brand’s ability to evolve beyond past mistakes, part of that evolution includes remaining accountable for any deviations from its values. core values”.
