Gulf News

Outrage as man dragged off flight

OFFICER PUT ON LEAVE, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTA­TION SAYS IT IS REVIEWING WHETHER AIRLINE COMPLIED WITH OVERBOOK RULES

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Security officer involved in the incident on United Airlines plane placed on leave | A18

United Airlines sparked outrage on Monday for the treatment of a passenger who was physically dragged off a plane the airline had overbooked, and one of the security officers involved in the incident was placed on leave pending an investigat­ion.

Videos posted online by other passengers showed a man screaming as officers yanked him from his seat on United Flight 3411 before it departed from Chicago O’Hare Internatio­nal Airport to Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday.

The man, who appeared to be Asian, was seen being dragged down the aisle on his back by his hands, body limp, bleeding from the mouth, glasses askew and shirt pulled up above his navel. The videos sparked outrage on social media, the second time in less than a month that United was criticised for its treatment of passengers.

In a letter circulated to employees, United Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz did not apologise for the way the passenger was handled, writing that the passenger had “defied” security officers.

Munoz said there are lessons the company can learn from this situation, though he impressed that he “emphatical­ly” stands behind his employees.

“We sought volunteers and then followed our involuntar­y denial of boarding process [including offering up to $1,000 — Dh3,670 — in compensati­on],” Munoz wrote.

“When we approached one of these passengers to explain apologetic­ally that he was being denied boarding, he raised his voice and refused to comply with crew member instructio­ns.”

‘Just kill me’

The Chicago Department of Aviation said in a statement that one of the officers did not follow protocol and added he had been placed on leave pending a review for actions not condoned by the department.

The US Department of Transporta­tion (DOT) said it was reviewing whether United complied with overbook rules that require airlines to set guidelines on how passengers are denied boarding if they do not volunteer to give up their seats.

“While it is legal for airlines to involuntar­ily bump passengers from an oversold flight when there are not enough volunteers, it is the airline’s responsibi­lity to determine its own fair boarding priorities,” a DOT spokespers­on said in a statement.

The incident was one of the top-trending topics on Twitter as users took to the website to express their anger toward the airline.

Video of the incident posted to Twitter account @Tyler_Bridges shows three security officers huddling over the seated passenger before dragging him to the floor. Bridges said the man told United staff that he was a doctor and had to return home to his patients.

The airline said it had asked for volunteers to leave because additional flight crew needed to get to Louisville.

Many social media users criticised United for how it handled the situation.

“Apologise for saying you ‘had to’ do this. There were other options and you know it,” user @ TessaDare wrote in a series of posts retweeted thousands of times. “Apologise for creating and allowing a corporate culture that says it’s OK to treat passengers with such disregard and disdain.”

In Bridges’ video, a woman asks: “Can’t they rent a car for the pilots and have them drive?”

Two uniformed men then reach into the man’s seat and snatch him from his chair.

Another video shows the distressed man, still dishevelle­d from the wrangle, returned to the cabin, clinging onto a curtain at the back of the plane and repeating: “Just kill me. Kill me,” and “I have to go home,” as blood streaked down his mouth.

 ?? Source: YouTube ?? A series of video grabs posted online by other passengers shows a man, who appeared to be Asian, being dragged down the aisle on United Flight 3411 before it departed from Chicago O’Hare Internatio­nal Airport to Louisville, Kentucky.
Source: YouTube A series of video grabs posted online by other passengers shows a man, who appeared to be Asian, being dragged down the aisle on United Flight 3411 before it departed from Chicago O’Hare Internatio­nal Airport to Louisville, Kentucky.
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