Delta Air Lines has come under fire on social media in wake of alleged discrimination aboard a flight from Detroit to Minneapolis.
In an Oct. 9 Facebook post, Houston obstetrician and gynecologist Tamika Cross, who is African-American, accused the airline of "blatant discrimination" after the flight crew prevented her from assisting during an in-flight emergency.
Cross said she heard a woman two rows in front of her screaming that her husband was unresponsive. But despite jumping into "doctor mode" she was allegedly blocked from leaving her seat and instead grilled with questions.
"A couple mins later he is unresponsive again and the flight attendant yells 'call overhead for a physician on board.' I raised my hand to grab her attention. She said to me 'oh no sweetie put ur hand down, we are looking for actual physicians or nurses or some type of medical personnel, we don't have time to talk to you.' I tried to inform her that I was a physician but I was continually cut off by condescending remarks," wrote Cross.
In the post, Cross goes on to say that the flight attendant requested to see her credentials and asked several questions, including where she worked and what she was doing in Detroit.
Cross said that's when another physician stepped forward to treat the man.
"She says to me 'thanks for your help but he can help us, and he has his credentials.' (Mind you he hasn't shown anything to her. Just showed up and fit the 'description of a doctor') I stay seated. Mind blown. Blood boiling."
Cross said she refused several apologies and SkyMiles offerings from the flight attendant.
Delta provided a statement on the incident in a Facebook comment, confirming that it was aware of what happened and was working directly with Cross to resolve the situation. "This does not reflect the Delta culture," the carrier said. "We condemn discrimination toward our customers in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or gender."
"As a global airline that brings hundreds of thousands of people together every day, Delta is deeply committed to treating all of our customers with respect."
Despite the statement, Delta has received tons of backlash on social media with users calling out the airline with the hashtag #TamikaCross.
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