American Airlines says a flight attendant that was seen in a confrontation with passengers on a plane is on leave pending an investigation. A video that was posted on Facebook on Friday appears to show the aftermath of an incident that happened while passengers were boarding a flight from San Francisco to Dallas.
A witness says the heated exchange started when the attendant "violently" took away a stroller from a female passenger with two small children. The woman was allegedly hit in the process, narrowly missing her children and was understandable upset.
During the video, a male passenger is seen coming to the sobbing woman's defense demanding the flight attendant's name. As the attendant is seen on camera telling the man to stay out of it, he's soon taunting the man to hit him. In the video, a female flight attendant is trying to calm the irate passenger/defender and says "it was an accident." In a statement, American Airlines says they are disappointed by the attendant's actions and will investigate.
The unnamed woman's ticket was fully refunded, she received a $1,000 travel voucher and was upgraded to first class for the remainder of her journey to Argentina.
"We have seen the video and have already started an investigation to obtain the facts. What we see on this video does not reflect our values or how we care for our customers," the airline said in a statement. "We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident. We are making sure all of her family's needs are being met while she is in our care. The actions of our team member captured here do not appear to reflect patience or empathy, two values necessary for customer care. In short, we are disappointed by these actions. The American team member has been removed from duty while we immediately investigate this incident."
Source: Washington Post