Just two weeks after United Airlines came under fire for refusing to let teen girls wearing leggings board a flight, they are once again the targets of online vitriol after a video showing employees dragging a passenger off an overbooked flight went viral.
The video, which was posted to Facebook by passenger Audra D. Bridges, shows three police officers grabbing a passenger from a window seat and dragging him down the aisle of the flight while he screams. The other people on the plane can be heard saying, “Please, my God. What are you doing? No. This is wrong. Oh my God. Look at what you did to him.”
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You can watch the video by clicking through to the next slide.
Bridges told The Courier-Journal that after passengers boarded the plane at Chicago’s O’Hare international Airport, they were told four United employees needed seats. The airline asked for volunteers to fly out on another flight in exchange for a voucher, but no one offered. They then randomly selected four people who would be forced to leave the plane to make room for the employees.
“This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United,” United CEO, Oscar Munoz said in a statement. “I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own detailed review of what happened. We are also reaching out to this passenger to talk directly to him and further address and resolve this situation.”
The situation is not being taken lightly by the passengers on the flight and the Internet as a whole.
“Everyone was shocked and appalled,” Bridges shared. “There were several children on the flight as well that were very upset.”
Hollywood shares in that shock and celebrities are now weighing in on the airline’s actions.
Click on the arrows to see the shocking video and the most noteworthy reactions to this incident!
This story first appeared at Womanista.
Getting on a United flight this morning. Excited to, I don’t know… stay on?
— Joss Whedon (@joss) April 10, 2017
Having flown #united last week, I feel very blessed to not be tweeting this message from a hospital bed.
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) April 10, 2017
Flying United? You have to drag me onto the plane.
— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) April 10, 2017
So @united sucks. But the Chicago police who dragged the man off the flight are also monsters. Police using unnecessary force, again.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) April 10, 2017
if united decides to take your seat AND you’re wearing leggings, they just execute you i assume
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) April 10, 2017
Ironically, not enough seats in the conference room where United is having its crisis meeting.
— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) April 10, 2017
Big question for @united: why did they halt their bid (for volunteers) at $800 — and randomly draw names to be ejected? Is there a ceiling?
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) April 10, 2017
It’s going to take a long time for @United to erase this image from customers’ minds. https://t.co/QzmZgbFQAp pic.twitter.com/h9gu6IYS3o
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) April 10, 2017
