American Airlines suspends staff after black men thrown off plane

Several American Airlines employees have been placed on leave for their involvement in an incident in which black passengers were removed from a flight after complaining about body odor.

Three passengers filed a lawsuit against the airline in May, accusing it of racial discrimination in connection with the January 5 incident.

In a message to employees, CEO Robert Isom said the incident was unacceptable and the company had failed in its commitment to customers.

“We are holding those involved accountable, including dismissing team members from service,” the airline said in a statement.

The company has also announced a number of initiatives to prevent such incidents, including the creation of an “advisory group” to address the experiences of black passengers.

In the May lawsuit, three men – who were not seated next to each other and did not know each other – said all black men were removed from the flight between Phoenix, Arizona, and New York City.

A total of eight passengers were rescued.

“American Airlines has exposed, embarrassed and humiliated us as Black people,” it said in a statement.

The three men – Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Xavier Veal – were eventually allowed to return to their seats on their original flight.

In a letter to employees on June 18, Mr Isom said he was “incredibly disappointed by the events on the flight and the breakdown of our procedures.”

“We have failed to meet our obligations and disappointed our customers,” he said.

He added that the airline remains “steadfast in its commitment” to work with civil rights organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to “restore trust.”

The incident is not the first time American Airlines has faced allegations of discrimination.

In another incident in 2017, the NAACP warned black travelers not to fly with the airline, citing a pattern of “disrespectful” and “discriminatory” behavior and a “corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias.”

They lifted the warning the following year after the airline announced changes to its operations.

However, on June 4 of this year, the airline warned that it might renew the warning if American Airlines did not respond “quickly and decisively” to the January incident.