American Airlines has announced the company will no longer kick off passengers for having bad body odor, a poor attitude or offensive clothing.
The airline recently announced the policy change in their Inflight Manual, revealing that flight attendants are no longer allowed to kick passengers off when their concerns are unrelated to safety or security.
The goal is avoid removing a customer, not to remove them, the new policy read, adding that from here on out, employees cannot act alone, and must work with a co-worker to find a resolution to situations.
If the issues, not related to the safety and security of the flight, escalate further, crew members have to fill out a Customer Event non-safety/non-security (CERS) form within 24 hours of the incident.
The captain also has the final say in a passenger being booted off the plane, but only after a thorough assessment.
The update in protocols comes after a series of incidents, including women being kicked off or not allowed on flight because of their clothing choices, while a group of black men were pulled off because a flight attendant claimed the cabin smelled like body odor and rounded them up and accused them of being the culprits.
American Airlines has announced new changes to its Inflight Manual, revealing that flight attendants are no longer allowed to kick passengers off when their concerns are unrelated to safety or security
In January, eight black men, who did not know each other, were all hauled off an American Airlines flight after a white male flight attendant made a complaint about offensive body odor
In January, eight black men, who did not know each other, were all hauled out of an American Airlines aircraft after a white male flight attendant made a complaint about offensive body odor inside the aircraft, according to a lawsuit.
The men had boarded Flight 832 at Phoenix Airport for the five-hour flight to New York JFK and sat in different parts of the plane when the incident occurred.
Staff spent an hour looking for an alternative flight but, when none could be found, the men were asked to get back on the aircraft and retake their seats.
I knew that as soon as I got on that plane, a sea of white faces were going to be looking at me and blaming me for their late flight of an hour, said Emmanuel Jean Joseph, one of the men who was kicked off.
Jean Joseph and fellow passengers Alvin Jackson and Xavier Veal had each taken a connecting flight from Los Angeles before boarding the plane at Phoenix.
Veal decided to record the incident on his phone after noticing that all the black passengers, and none of the white passengers, were being removed.
Three of the men, Alvin Jackson (left), Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Xavier Veal (right) the sued the airline, claiming they were traumatized by the experience
I started freaking out, he said.
Video showed staff in the gate area struggling to find them another flight with one man slamming the incident as un-f***ing-professional, as another said that This aint no random pick.
A black American Airlines attendant at the desk appeared to agree with the claim that their removal was racially motivated, admitting: I do not disagree with you.
Following that incident, the airlines CEO Robert Isom told staff he is incredibly disappointed and that they failed their customers.
I am incredibly disappointed by what happened on that flight and the breakdown of our procedures. It contradicts our values. We fell short of our commitments and failed our customers in this incident, he said.
He also noted that an unspecified number of employees had been placed on leave for their involvement in the incident.
The company did not name the employees or describe their job titles.
In 2022, former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo slammed the airline after staff told her that her traveling outfit was inappropriate.
The employees allegedly demanded that Culpo cover her crop top and biker shorts with a blouse or else she would be banned from her flight to Mexico.
Former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo slammed the airline after staff told her that her traveling outfit was inappropriate. Staff threatened that they would not allow her on her flight unless she covered up
The now 32-year-old detailed the altercation on her Instagram Stories, where both she and her older sister Aurora - who was traveling with her - said the airline criticized the models outfit.
Sharing a video of Culpos ensemble on her own account, the models sister Aurora insisted that her sibling looked cute and appropriate in her athleisure look, which consisted of a black sports bra, black biker shorts, and a long black cardigan.
However, American Airlines staff clearly did not agree, as Aurora shared: Olivia and I are going to Cabo. Look at her outfit... She looks cute, she looks appropriate, no?
They call her up to the desk and tell her that she needs to put a blouse on otherwise she cant get on the plane. Tell me, is that not so f***ed up? American Airlines, I love you so much, [but] please get me to Cabo.
To add insult to injury, after Culpo covered her ensemble up with a large hoodie that she borrowed from her NFL player beau Christian McCaffrey, she and her sister came across a fellow passenger who was also wearing a similar athleisure look, which had not been flagged by American Airlines staff.
See? She looks beautiful but they dont care, Aurora said, while filming the unnamed womans look, which featured a turquoise sports bra, turquoise leggings, and a long turquoise cardigan. But [Culpo] has to cover up?
Culpo and her sister expressed further shock and outrage after finding another passenger who was also wearing a revealing top, but had not been told to cover her outfit
In 2023, Comedian and YouTuber Chrissie Mayr and her friend Keanu Thompson claimed they were were forced by male staffers to change their outfits in front of other passengers before boarding the plane
In 2023, Comedian and YouTuber Chrissie Mayr tweeted about an incident she and her friend had before boarding an American Airlines flight.
Mayr and her friend Keanu Thompson were traveling from Las Vegas to Dallas, when they claim they were forced by male staffers to change their outfits in front of other passengers before boarding the plane.
In a tweet, the comedian revealed the outfits she and Keanu were initially wearing.
Hers consists of sheer sparkly flared pants and a matching cropped long-sleeve top, while Keanu poses in a long jungle-print skirt with slits running to the thigh and a matching bralette.
Bizarrely, the duo were told to change their pants at the gate, but the shorts they put on instead turned out to be more revealing.
Chrissie exclaimed that THIS IS NO WAY TO TREAT A REWARDS MEMBER.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, she claims there were singled out for being thin and white.
It was such a mortifying situation and I know this wouldnt have happened to us if we were trans, or obese or people of color.
Recounting the exact chain of events, she said: They didnt say what was wrong with our pants, the man at the gate just touched me on the arm and said: "Come with me I need to speak with you… you have to change your pants."
Bizarrely, the duo were told to change their pants at the gate, but the shorts they put on instead turned out to be more revealing
It was such a panicked situation, I felt like I had to instantly do what he said or else we wouldnt be allowed to board the plane. We also had plans to do appearances in Austin the next day (were comedians) so we didnt want to be delayed.
While DailyMail.com had reached out to American Airlines for comment, Chrissie said she did receive an apology from a customer relations employee, but nothing more.
The letter, which was sent via email, read: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.
While I am very sorry to learn that you and Ms. Thompson didnt have the best experience traveling out of Las Vegas recently, I do greatly appreciate the opportunity to assist you with your concerns.
As mentioned in our conversation, we take matters of customer service very seriously.
I have thoroughly documented the details you shared with me so they can be reviewed by appropriate leadership. I can assure you the behavior you witnessed will be addressed.