American Airlines now prohibits flight attendants from easily removing passengers over mild concerns such as odor, attire, or attitude. This gives attendants less power to remove customers from flights at will.
The new rule has been added to the American Airlines in-flight manual for all attendants to read and follow. The airline states that representatives from airports and other committees have reviewed the manual and made suggestions for what should be added or changed.
American Airlines Prohibits Trivial Removals
Within the revision, American Airlines wrote the following:
“We’ve made important updates and provided additional clarity — with special attention directed at situations that involve customer acceptance and those that may result in the removal of passengers.”
Here is a rundown of the new policies in the in-flight manual:
- Flight attendants can only remove passengers over concerns of safety or security.
- Any concerns attendants have must first be addressed with the passenger in question.
- Flight attendants are not allowed to make decisions on removing passengers alone. At least two crew members must come up with a resolution.
- The flight captain will maintain authority over passenger removals due to safety, but he or she will now need to contact a Complaint Resolution Official. Attendants will also need to submit a Customer Event Non-Safety (CERS) report.
The new manual also includes a statement on discrimination:
“Our charge for every team member — no matter the circumstance — is to lead with respect, discretion, care and empathy…Discrimination based on race, gender, color, sexual orientation or national origin against any customer or team member is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at American Airlines.”
The Story Behind New American Rules
On 5 January, 2024, a caucasian male flight attendant removed eight black male passengers off an American Airlines flight due to “offensive body odor”. The flight was slated for Phoenix to New York City, stalling the trip home for many passengers.
The ordeal was said to have delayed the flight for about an hour. The men were eventually allowed back on the plane to New York.
Three of the eight men responded with a lawsuit against American in late June. Three Brooklyn residents, Alvin Jackson, Emmanual Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal, claimed they faced “blatant and egregious” racial discrimination from the staff.
A video of the incident is available on YouTube. It shows many of the men arguing with an airline agent outside the gate to the aircraft.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom publicly commented on the incident in a letter to employees. “I am incredibly disappointed by what happened on that flight and the breakdown of our procedures,” said Isom. “…We fell short of our commitments and failed our customers in this incident.”
Following an internal investigation, the airline responded by announcing that the crew members that barred the men from flying were placed on leave.
American Airlines’ policies imply that there’s still a possibility that attendants can refuse to serve passengers over odor. But the new additions to the policy will make it harder and require more steps to carry out.
