愛污传媒

Skip to main content

Black men who were asked to leave a flight sue American Airlines, claiming racial discrimination

In this file photo, an American Airlines Boeing 787 approaches for landing in Lisbon, with the setting moon in the background, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) In this file photo, an American Airlines Boeing 787 approaches for landing in Lisbon, with the setting moon in the background, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Share
NEW YORK -

Black passengers who were briefly ordered off an American Airlines plane in January sued the airline Wednesday, alleging that they were victims of racial discrimination.

Three of the men filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York. They said they were told to leave a plane waiting to take off in Phoenix and noticed five other black men who also had been ordered off the flight.

The three, who did not know each other and had been sitting in different parts of the plane, said an airline employee told them they were removed because a flight attendant had complained about a passenger's body odour. The men said they responded that it appeared they were targeted for removal solely because of their race.

American offered to rebook them, but when it became clear after about an hour that there were no other available flights to New York that evening, they were allowed to reboard the plane, according to the lawsuit filed by Public Citizen, a consumer-advocacy group founded by Ralph Nader.

"If American Airlines received a complaint about a Black male passenger with offensive body odour but could not verify the complaint, the solution should not have been to eject eight separate Black men from the plane," Susan Huhta, an employment law attorney in Washington, D.C., who is representing the three men, said.

American said it was looking into the claims.

"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."

In 2017, the NAACP warned Black travellers about flying on American, claiming that several African American passengers had experienced discrimination by the airline. American promised changes, and the civil-rights group later lifted the advisory.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

BREAKING

BREAKING

The ongoing count of absentee ballots in B.C.鈥檚 nail-biting 2024 provincial election has put the NDP ahead of the Conservatives in the Surrey-Guildford riding.

A group of Cape Breton firefighters are apologizing after four people showed up at a Halloween dance dressed in what appeared to be Ku Klux Klan costumes.

Marred by several delays, the trial of alleged human traffickers Lauriston and Amber Maloney is underway Monday in a Bradford courtroom, with both entering a not guilty plea.

Local Spotlight

Epcor says it has removed more than 20,000 goldfish from an Edmonton stormwater pond.

Witches and warlocks have been flocking to New Brunswick waterways this month, as a new Halloween tradition ripples across the province.

New Brunswicker Jillea Godin鈥檚 elaborate cosplay pieces attract thousands to her online accounts, as well as requests from celebrities for their own pieces.

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

Stay Connected