If you’ve ever felt the desire to boo an airline in unison with your fellow passengers, have I got the story for you.
According to a report in the Washington Post and a passenger-recorded cellphone video, an American Airlines (AAL) flight erupted in jeers after flight attendants removed a crying woman from the plane. According to an interview with the passenger, traveler Tiana Fough was chatting with a fellow passenger during boarding when a flight attendant started to yell at her for not following his orders that she make room for others trying to board the plane.
Fough claims she never heard the request, but by the time she realized what was going on the flight attendant had already decided to remove her from the plane. According to the report:
At her seat, a bewildered Fough started sobbing. Other passengers were comforting her when the flight attendant appeared again. He started opening the overhead compartments around her seat. “Where’s your bag?” he said. “You’re getting off this plane. I’m going to kick you off this plane.”
As Fough was removed from the flight, other passengers started booing, and the scene was captured on video by one of them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgDxtPEBEzA
In a statement emailed to the Post, American Airlines said:
We are in contact with the passenger and have apologized . . . We have addressed the issue with our team members to ensure we provide a consistent, quality travel experience for our customers in the future.
