American Airlines faces another controversy as employees were put on suspension after allegedly offloading black passengers from a flight in Phoenix reportedly due to a complaint about body odor.
While the number of suspended employees and their job titles remain undisclosed, an American Airlines spokesperson assured that the airline would hold those involved accountable, including removing some team members from service.
Racial Discrimination in American Airlines
The recent allegation is not new in the airlines' racial bias controversy. Previously, the NAACP issued a warning to Black travelers about flying with the airline, alleging that several African American passengers had encountered discrimination from troublesome employees.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson expressed concern about a series of incidents suggesting racial bias, describing them as indicative of an unacceptable corporate culture that cannot be disregarded as ordinary. As a result, American Airlines committed to implementing changes, which resulted in the NAACP rescinding the advisory approximately nine months later.
Black Passengers' Alleged Racial Discrimination Lawsuit
American Airlines faces a lawsuit from Black passengers who were allegedly removed from a January flight due to racial discrimination. Three out of eight men who were ordered to leave the plane filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York, stating they were instructed to disembark from an aircraft preparing for takeoff in Phoenix.
The three individuals, who were strangers to each other and had been seated separately on the plane, reported that an airline employee informed them they were being removed due to a complaint from a flight attendant about another passenger's body odor, believing they were singled out for removal based solely on their race.
American Airlines offered to rebook them. However, after approximately an hour, and no other flights to New York were available that evening, they were permitted to reboard the plane, as stated in the lawsuit filed by a consumer advocacy group established by Ralph Nader, Public Citizen.
Susan Huhta, an employment law attorney based in Washington, D.C., representing the three men, criticized American Airlines, stating that if the airline received a complaint about a Black male passenger's offensive body odor without being able to verify it, ejecting eight different Black men from the plane should not have been the solution.
American Airlines' Acknowledging an Unacceptable incident
American Airlines emphasized its commitment to taking all allegations of discrimination seriously and ensuring a positive experience for its customers. In a statement, American Airlines indicated that its teams are currently looking into the matter, which does not reflect its core values and mission of caring for people.
Meanwhile, American CEO Robert Isom called the incident unacceptable, conveying deep disappointment over what occurred on the flight and the breakdown of their procedures, which contradicted their values.
Acknowledging the shortcomings of their commitments and failing their customers in this incident, Isom announced that American Airlines would establish an advisory group aimed at enhancing the experience of Black customers, promoting the reporting of discrimination allegations, and enhancing diversity training that will specifically target real-world scenarios to improve the recognition and addressing of bias and discrimination.
