Black men sue American Airlines for ‘racial discrimination’

Three black men have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging the carrier briefly kicked them off a flight after a complaint about body odor.

The men, who were not seated together and did not know each other, claim that all black men were kicked off the Jan. 5 flight from Phoenix, Arizona, to New York.

“American Airlines singled us out for being black, embarrassed and humiliated us,” the men said in a joint statement Wednesday.

The Texas-based airline said it was investigating the matter because the allegations did not align with its values.

According to a federal lawsuit filed by consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, the men had already taken their seats and were preparing to leave Phoenix when a flight attendant approached each of them and asked them to get out of the cabin. ‘plane.

Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Xavier Veal claim that as they left, they realized that “all the black men on the flight were being deported.”

Each of the men had left Los Angeles earlier in the day, without problem.

At the gate, the three men, along with five others, were informed by an airline agent that they had been “kicked out because a white flight attendant complained about the smell bodily injury of an unidentified passenger.

“There is no explanation other than the color of our skin,” the men said in a statement Wednesday, adding: “This was clearly racial discrimination.”

American Airlines employees tried to rebook the men on other flights, but there was no other service to New York that night. The group was then allowed to return to their original flight.

American Airlines said in a statement: “We take all allegations of discrimination very seriously and want our customers to have a positive experience when they choose to travel with us.

“Our teams are currently investigating the matter, as these allegations do not reflect our core values ​​or our desire to care for people.”

The lawsuit adds that while the men waited outside the plane, the pilot made an announcement informing passengers that there was a delay due to a “body odor” issue. The plaintiffs say the odor claim was false.

“Throughout the flight – from the moment they reboarded, through each interaction with the white flight attendant, and until they landed – the plaintiffs experienced profound feelings of embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety , anger and distress,” the lawsuit states.

“Returning to their seats after an unjustified delay, passing the predominantly white passengers, many of whom looked at them with anger and unwarranted suspicion, compounded their humiliation.”

The lawsuit says the airline should be forced to pay unspecified damages for the “trauma” suffered by the men.

One of the men suing, Mr Joseph, told the BBC the “alienating” experience reminded him of civil rights hero Rosa Parks, who was forced to ride in the back of an Alabama bus in 1955 due to state-sanctioned racial discrimination.

“It’s a strange and crazy story that in 2024 we’re still dealing with things like this,” Mr Joseph said.

He added that the lawsuit is necessary to ensure American Airlines doesn’t end up “with a slap on the wrist.”

In 2017, the NAACP, a civil rights group, issued a travel advisory urging Black Americans to avoid American Airlines due to discrimination.

They lifted the advisory the following year after the carrier announced it had made changes to its operations.