American Airlines put an unspecified number of employees on leave for their involvement in an incident in which several Black passengers were removed from a flight in Phoenix, allegedly over a complaint about body odor.
American CEO Robert Isom wrote in a note to staff that the incident was unacceptable.
“I am incredibly disappointed by what happened on that flight and the breakdown of our procedures,” Isom said in the note this week. “It contradicts our values. … We fell short of our commitments and failed our customers in this incident.”
Xavier Veal, Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Alvin Jackson say they had just boarded a Jan. 5 flight at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport when an American employee ordered them and five others to get off, according to their lawsuit. When they demanded an explanation, they were told by an airline employee that they were removed following a complaint about body odor — even though none of the men were directly accused of having an offensive smell, according to the suit.
The men said they did not know each other and were seated separately while waiting for the plane to depart for New York. The three said they were among eight passengers – all the Black men on the flight, they said – who were told to leave the plane.
The men said they demanded an explanation for their removal during a confrontation with airline personnel in the jet bridge. At least one of the men recorded the discussion, capturing an airline employee seeming to agree that the men were discriminated against, according to their lawsuit.
After a delay of about an hour, they were allowed back on the plane.
“They suffered during the entire flight home, and the entire incident was traumatic, upsetting, scary, humiliating, and degrading,” the filing added.
“We’re walking through the aisle of shame, if you will,” Veal, a production assistant based in Queens, told the Washington Post. “It was horrible. It was a really traumatic experience.
“Unfortunately, I’m a black man and I live in America. It wakes you back up to the reality that I can’t just go to the store; I can’t just do regular things like take a plane home,” he lamented.
American did not say how many employees were put on leave or describe their job titles. A spokesperson for the airline said, “We are holding those involved accountable, including removing team members from service.”
Isom said American would form an advisory group to focus on the experience of Black customers, to promote the reporting of discrimination allegations, and to improve diversity training to “focus on real-world situations to help recognize and address bias and discrimination.”
In his note, which was reported earlier by CBS News, Isom said he had spoken with the president of the NAACP about the incident.
American has faced allegations of discrimination in the recent past. In 2017, the NAACP warned Black travelers about flying on the airline, claiming that several African American passengers had experienced discrimination from airline employees. American promised to make changes, and the NAACP lifted the advisory nearly nine months later.