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American Airlines was sued for alleged racial discrimination.
CNN
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A lawsuit filed Wednesday on behalf of three black men alleges that American Airlines engaged in “blatant and flagrant racial discrimination” when it removed them from the plane.
According to the lawsuit, plaintiffs Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, Xavier Veal and five other black male passengers allege that they were removed from American Airlines Flight 832, which was flying from Phoenix to New York City JFK on January 5, 2024, “without just cause and solely based on their race.”
According to the lawsuit, American Airlines personnel approached each man before takeoff and ordered them to leave the plane, and the passengers complied.
“Upon arriving at the boarding bridge, the plaintiffs saw several other black men being removed from the plane. In fact, American Airlines all “A black male passenger on Flight 832 deplaned,” the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, U.S. representatives told the plaintiffs that complaints about body odor were the reason they were being fired. None of the plaintiffs were informed that they personally had body odor, and “in fact, none of the plaintiffs had any objectionable body odor,” the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, at least one American representative agreed with the plaintiffs when they alleged they were discriminated against because they were black.
Mobile phone footage taken by several of the men shows confused passengers questioning the airline's actions, with one man recorded saying: “This is discrimination.”
“I agree, I agree,” says a woman wearing a badge who appears to be an airline employee.
“We're the only ones being taken off the plane,” one man says, looking around the group. “Look at us.”
In another video, a man comments: “This is crazy. They just took eight black people off the plane.”
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs did not know each other before the flight and were not seated next to each other.
At the boarding gate, the men were told that a white male flight attendant had filed a complaint about their body odor, according to the lawsuit.
The men were eventually allowed to board about an hour later after the airline determined there were no flights available that night.
“Plaintiffs then had to re-board the flight and endure the stares of primarily white passengers who perceived Plaintiffs to be the cause of the significant delay. Plaintiffs suffered throughout the entire return flight and found the entire incident traumatic, upsetting, frightening, humiliating and degrading,” the lawsuit reads.
“We take allegations of discrimination seriously and want our customers to have a positive experience when flying with us,” American Airlines said in a statement.
“This allegation does not reflect our core values and purpose of caring for people, and our team is currently investigating the matter.”
The plaintiffs are seeking “declaratory relief, just compensation for their distress, and punitive damages sufficient to deter American Airlines from discriminating against black passengers in the future,” as well as attorneys' fees.
The complaint also cited “American Airlines' discriminatory attitudes toward black passengers,” which led the NAACP to issue a warning about the airline in 2017. The warning was lifted nine months later after the airline made progress in addressing the organization's concerns.
The lawsuit alleges the plaintiffs' treatment was part of a pattern.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
