In a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination, three black men have accused American Airlines of briefly removing them from an aircraft following a body odor complaint.
The males, who did not know one another and were not sitting together, claim that every black man was taken off the Phoenix, Arizona, to New York trip on January 5.
The guys stated in a statement on Wednesday that “American Airlines singled us out for being Black, embarrassed us, and humiliated us.”
The Texas-based airline stated that the claims were inconsistent with company beliefs and that it was looking into the matter.
A flight attendant approached each of the guys and requested that they get off the aircraft as they were getting ready to leave Phoenix, according to a federal lawsuit filed by consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
According to Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal, they became aware that “every Black man on the flight was being removed” as they were about to depart.
Earlier that day, all of the men had taken flights from Los Angeles, without any problems.
The three males and five other passengers were informed at the flight gate by an airline representative that they had been “removed because a white male flight attendant had complained about an unidentified passenger’s body odour”.
The guys claimed in a statement on Wednesday that “there is no explanation other than the color of our skin,” emphasizing that “clearly this was racial discrimination.”
Employees of American Airlines attempted to reschedule the men on different flights, but none of them went to New York that evening. At that point, the group was permitted to reclaim their seats on the original aircraft.
“We take all claims of discrimination very seriously and want our customers to have a positive experience when they choose to fly with us,” American Airlines stated in a statement.
The lawsuit also claims that the captain informed the passengers that there was a delay because of a problem with “body odour” while the guys were waiting outside the aircraft. According to the plaintiffs, the scent claim was untrue.
“Throughout the flight – from the moment of their reboarding, in each interaction with the white male flight attendant, and continuing until landing – Plaintiffs experienced profound feelings of embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, anger, and distress,” the complaint alleges.
“The act of returning to their seats after the unwarranted delay, navigating past the predominantly white passengers, several of whom eyed them with anger and undue suspicion, compounded their humiliation.”
According to the case, the airline ought to be made to compensate the men for their “trauma” with undisclosed damages.
Mr. Joseph, one of the men suing, told the BBC that the “alienating” experience made him think of Rosa Parks, the Civil Rights activist, who was made to sit in the rear of an Alabama bus in 1955 because of racial discrimination that was sanctioned by the state.
“It’s an odd and bizarre tale that we are still experiencing such things in 2024,” Mr. Joseph remarked.
In order to ensure that American Airlines does not receive “a slap on the wrist,” he continued, the action is essential.
Due of discrimination, the civil rights organization NAACP issued a travel advise in 2017 advising African Americans not to fly with American Airlines.
The following year, they revoked the recommendation following the carrier’s announcement of operational modifications.
