Add Category
Updated
United Airlines will no longer use police to remove passengers from full flights after the uproar over a man who was dragged off a plane by airport officers in Chicago, the carrier's chief executive says.
Key points:
- Company chief Oscar Munoz says he felt "ashamed" seeing vision of incident
- Mr Munoz has apologised three times
- Family of passenger thanks people for outpouring of concern
In an interview with Good Morning America, Oscar Munoz said he felt "ashamed" watching video of the man being forced off the jet. He has promised to review the airline's passenger-removal policy.
Mr Munoz, who leads United's parent company, apologised again to Kentucky physician David Dao, his family and the other passengers who witnessed him being taken off the flight.
"That is not who our family at United is," he said.
"This will never happen again on a United flight. That's my promise."
In the future, law enforcement will not be involved in removing a "booked, paid, seated passenger", Mr Munoz said. "We can't do that."
Mr Munoz called the embarrassment a "system failure" and said United would reassess its procedures for seeking volunteers to give up their seats when a flight is full.
United was trying to find seats for four employees, meaning four passengers had to get off the plane.
It was at least Mr Munoz's fourth statement about the confrontation.
After the video first emerged, he said the airline was reaching out to the man to "resolve this situation".
Hours later on Monday, his tone turned defensive. He described the man as "disruptive and belligerent".
By Tuesday afternoon, almost two days after the Sunday evening events, Mr Munoz issued another apology.
"No one should ever be mistreated this way," Mr Munoz said.
The passenger was identified as Mr Dao, a 69-year-old physician from Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
Family 'very appreciative at outpouring of concern'
An attorney who represents Mr Dao said his client was being treated at a Chicago hospital for injuries he sustained on the plane and that the family would not comment.
Mr Dao's relatives are focused only on his medical care, attorney Stephen Golan said.
The family "wants the world to know that they are very appreciative of the outpouring of prayers, concern and support they have received".
Airport officials have said little about Sunday's events and nothing about Mr Dao's behaviour before he was pulled from the jet that was bound for Louisville, Kentucky.
Likewise, the Chicago Aviation Department has said only that one of its employees who removed Mr Dao did not follow proper procedures and has been placed on leave.
No passengers on the plane have mentioned that Mr Dao did anything but refuse to leave the plane when he was ordered to do so.
The event stemmed from a common air travel issue — a full flight.
At first, the airline asked for volunteers, offering $US400 ($535) and then when that did not work, $US800 ($1,070) per passenger to relinquish a seat.
When no one voluntarily came forward, United selected four passengers at random.
Three people got off the flight, but the fourth said he was a doctor and needed to get home to treat patients on Monday. He refused to leave.
AP
Topics: air-transport, business-economics-and-finance, consumer-protection, united-states
First posted