American Airlines accused of racial discrimination in lawsuit
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American Airlines planes at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo: Robert Alexander/Getty Images
Three men accused American Airlines in a lawsuit Wednesday of "blatant and egregious racial discrimination" for temporarily removing them and five other Black passengers from a flight after a complaint about body odor.
The big picture: The lawsuit states that the eight men were not seated together and did not know each other when they were removed from the Jan. 5 flight from Phoenix, Arizona, to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport "without any valid reason, and solely based on their race."
- An American Airlines spokesperson said in an emailed statement on Wednesday night that the company was investigating the allegations raised in the suit, filed on behalf of Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Xavier Veal.
Details: "Representatives of American told them that they were removed from the flight because of a complaint about a Black male passenger who allegedly had offensive body odor," states the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
- "None of the Plaintiffs had offensive body odor and at no time did anyone ever specifically accuse any of them of having offensive body odor," it states.
- "When Plaintiffs pointed out that they were being treated unfairly due to the color of their skin, at least one of the American staff members said she did 'not disagree.'"
- The suit states that the men were told they would all have to be rebooked on another flight, but after about an hour "and only after determining that there were no available American flights" that evening, the airline "reversed course" and told them they could reboard Flight 832 and fly to JFK.
- "The whole ordeal was traumatic, upsetting, scary, humiliating, degrading, and outrageous. American's blatant profiling was malicious and racist," the lawsuit adds.
Zoom out: The lawsuit states there have been other examples of the airline targeting Black people and other passengers of color.
- "American's pattern of racial bigotry toward Black passengers led the NAACP to issue a 2017 travel advisory" warning to Black travelers about the airline," the lawsuit states.
- The NAACP dropped the advisory in 2018 after the airline implemented bias training and reviewed its complaint system, notes Axios' Naheed Rajwani-Dharsi in a report on Sha'Carri Richardson being forced off an American flight last year after the Black U.S. sprinter said a flight attendant harassed her over a video she was shooting.
- Last year, American Airlines also apologized to Black musician David Ryan Harris after he said he was stopped by an employee at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion that he was trafficking his own children, who are biracial.
What they're saying: "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 American Airlines spokesperson said, adding that the lawsuit's claims "do not reflect our core values or our purpose of caring for people."
Editor's note: This article has been updated with more details from the lawsuit and further context.
