American Airlines stands down employees who booted eight black passengers off aircraft after blaming them for an ‘offensive’ odor

American Airlines has fired employees who removed eight black passengers from a plane after blaming them for an “offensive” odor.

The male passengers, who did not know each other, had boarded Flight 832 at Phoenix Airport in January for the five-hour flight to New York JFK.

The men were seated in different parts of the plane, but were all singled out and dragged off the plane when a “white male flight attendant” complained about “offensive body odor.”

Three of the passengers taken off the flight have since sued the airline, claiming they were removed from the flight due to racial discrimination.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom told staff this week that he is “incredibly disappointed” and that they have “let their customers down.”

After the incident went viral, CEO Robert Isom told staff this week that he is “incredibly disappointed” and that they have “let their customers down.”

“I am incredibly disappointed by what happened on that flight and the failure of our procedures. It is against our values. “We have failed to meet our obligations and let our customers down in this incident,” he said.

He also noted that an unspecified number of employees had been placed on leave due to their involvement in the incident.

The company did not name the employees or describe their job titles.

An airline spokesperson said: ‘We are holding those involved accountable, including removing team members from service.’

The CEO also said the company would form an advisory group to focus on the experiences of Black customers, promote reporting of allegations of discrimination and improve diversity training to “focus on real-world situations to address bias and to help recognize and tackle discrimination’.

They had previously said they “take all claims of discrimination very seriously.”

“We want our customers to have a positive experience when they choose to fly with us,” she added.

“Our teams are currently investigating the matter as the claims do not reflect our core values ​​or our purpose of caring for people.”

Three of the men, Alvin Jackson (left), Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Xavier Veal (right), are suing the airline, claiming they were traumatized by the experience

The three men who sued the company, Jean Joseph and fellow passengers Alvin Jackson and Xavier Veal, had each taken a connecting flight from Los Angeles before boarding the plane in 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.

“I started to panic,” he said.

Video shows staff at the gate struggling to find them another flight, with one man labeling the incident as “unprofessional” and another noting that “this is not a random choice.”

A black American Airlines employee at the counter seemed to agree with the claim that their removal was racially motivated, conceding, “I don’t disagree with you.”

Three of the men started talking as they gathered at the baggage claim area at the end of the flight, and they filed the lawsuit Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

“They had to reboard the plane and endure the stares of the mostly white passengers who saw them as the cause of the significant delay,” the lawsuit alleges.

“They suffered throughout the flight home and the entire incident was traumatic, disturbing, frightening, humiliating and humiliating.”

The remaining passengers were said to have been informed of the alleged reason for the removal before the eight men were asked to reboard the plane and retake their seats.

The lawsuit alleges that other passengers were informed that the men had been removed due to an odor while off the plane.

“We’re walking down the aisle of shame, if you will,” Veal said. ‘It was horrible. It was a really traumatic experience.

“Unfortunately, I’m a black man and I live in America.”