by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 3:50 PM ET, Wed May 29, 2024
American Airlines is being sued by three Black passengers who were ordered to get off of a flight in January.
The three passengers allege in the lawsuit filed in federal court in New York that they were victims of racial discrimination.
The incident in question took place on January 5, when an American employee ordered a total of eight black men off of American Airlines Flight 832, which was flying from Phoenix to New York.
According to the lawsuit, "American Airlines engaged in blatant and egregious race discrimination when it ejected Plaintiffs Jackson, Joseph, and Veal, along with five other Black male passengers, from American Flight 832 from Phoenix to JFK, without any valid reason, based solely on their race."
The lawsuit goes on to explain that just prior to the flight’s scheduled takeoff, an American Airlines attendant approached each plaintiff, and, one by one, told them to get off the plane immediately, without explanation.
“The plaintiffs complied and, once they reached the jet bridge, they saw that several other Black men were also being removed from the plane. In fact, it appeared to Plaintiffs that American had ordered all of the Black male passengers on Flight 832 off the plane.”
Airline representatives told the men they were being ordered off the plane due to body odor. “Plaintiffs were not told that they personally had body odor, and in fact none of the Plaintiffs had offensive body odor,” the filing continues.
The lawsuit further alleges that when the men involved in the incident pointed out that it looked like they had been singled out because they were Black, at least one of the American representatives said, “I agree. I agree.”
American Airlines' airplanes active on an airport tarmac. (Photo Credit: American Airlines Media)
The airline told the Black men that they would need to be rebooked on another flight. However, after about one hour of searching for flight options, it became clear that there were no other alternatives available and the Black men were allowed back on the plane.
“Plaintiffs then had to reboard the plane and endure the stares of the largely white passengers who viewed them as the cause of the substantial delay. They suffered during the entire flight home, and the entire incident was traumatic, upsetting, scary, humiliating, and degrading,” says the lawsuit.
For its part, American Airlines said in a statement that it was looking into the claims, according to a report in Quartz.
“We take all claims of discrimination very seriously and want our customers to have a positive experience when they choose to fly with us,” the airline said in a statement. “Our teams are currently investigating the matter, as the claims do not reflect our core values or our purpose of caring for people.”
The lawsuit alleges that American has a history of discriminatory treatment and that what happened on January 5 was not an isolated incident. “In fact, American has a documented history of frequently subjecting Black passengers (and other passengers of color) to differential treatment and bigotry,” the lawsuit alleges.
Back in 2017, the NAACP issued a warning for Black travelers when it comes to flying on American. The organization said Black travelers could be subjected to “disrespectful, discriminatory or unsafe conditions” on the air carrier and stated that “[t]he growing list of incidents suggesting racial bias reflects an unacceptable corporate culture and involves behavior that cannot be dismissed as normal or random.”
The airline at that time had said it would make changes and the NAACP later removed the advisory.
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