3 black men sue American Airlines for racial discrimination – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Three black men are suing American Airlines, alleging discrimination and unfair removal from a plane after a white flight attendant complained about an unidentified passenger's body odor.

On Wednesday, a complaint was filed in New York regarding an incident that occurred on January 5. Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Xavier Veal, who did not know each other and were not seated together, boarded American Airlines Flight 832 from Phoenix (PHX). in New York (JFK).

Before the plane took off and shortly after the pilot announced an early arrival time, an American Airlines representative contacted the plaintiffs individually and ordered them off the plane without explanation, according to the trial. In addition to the three complainants, five other black male passengers were removed from the plane.

Video recordings of the incident showed the plaintiffs demanding an explanation for their deportation, as it appeared all black men on the flight were being asked to leave.

“What happened to us was wrong. Imagine a flight attendant ordering every white person off a plane because of a complaint about a white person,” the three plaintiffs, Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Xavier Veal, said in a statement.

“That would never happen. But that's what happened to us. There's no explanation other than the color of our skin. American Airlines singled us out for being black, embarrassed us and humiliated. Obviously, it was discrimination.”

Court documents say an American Airlines representative ultimately told the plaintiffs and other black men that they would not be allowed to fly on Flight 832 and would have to change their reservations.

In the complaint, a U.S. official allegedly told black passengers they were kicked off the flight because a white flight attendant complained about an unidentified passenger's body odor. The lawsuit states that none of the plaintiffs, at any time, were accused of having an unpleasant body odor.

After American Airlines offered to rebook her flight, it became apparent after an hour that there was no alternative flight to New York that evening, according to the lawsuit. At that point, the passengers were allowed to reboard the plane and the flight was delayed for more than an hour.

“What happened to the plaintiffs strongly suggests that American Airlines racially profiled them,” said Susan Huhta, a partner at Outten & Golden and an attorney for the plaintiffs.

“If American Airlines received a complaint about a black passenger having unpleasant body odor but could not verify the complaint, the solution should not have been to eject eight separate black men from the plane. This incident is consistent with a disturbing history of allegations that American Airlines discriminates against black passengers. We look forward to achieving justice for these men and hopefully reducing the likelihood that American Airlines will make a claim. day this to another black passenger.

Fort Worth-based American Airlines issued a statement Wednesday after the filing.

“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 goal of take care of people.

In 2017, the NAACP issued a travel advisory warning Black passengers that they might face “disrespectful, discriminatory, or unsafe conditions” when traveling on American Airlines. American Airlines pledged to make changes, and the civil rights group later withdrew its notice.

“This complaint follows other reported incidents in which American Airlines allegedly mistreated Black travelers who were simply trying to reach their destinations,” said Michael Kirkpatrick, an attorney with the Public Citizen Litigation Group and attorney for the plaintiffs.

“American Airlines’ treatment of the Black men aboard Flight 832 – and countless other Black and people of color passengers over many years – cannot be tolerated. Jackson, Joseph and Veal deserve justice.

Read the full lawsuit below