Trio sue American Airlines for removing them from plane over ‘body odour’ complaints

Three Black men in the US have filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging they were removed from a flight following a complaint about ‘body odour’.

The three plaintiffs, who were not previously acquainted, are Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal.

According to complaint documents, on January 5, 2024, the three plaintiffs, along with five other Black passengers, were approached by a representative from the airline and ordered to get off the plane before takeoff on Flight 832 from Phoenix to New York City.

The court documents stated that as the plaintiffs began to comply with the directive to deplane, they noticed that the only passengers being ordered off the plane were Black men. Once off the plane, an airline staff member told them they were removed due to a complaint about body odour.

The complaints noted that the plaintiffs were not told they personally had body odour and, in fact, none of them had offensive body odour.

The passengers were then allegedly told they would need to be re-booked on another flight, but the airline reversed its decision when there were no more flights that evening to re-book them on.

The men stated that what happened to them was wrong.

“Imagine a flight attendant ordering every white person off a plane because of a complaint about one white person. That would never happen, but that is what happened to us. There is no explanation other than the colour of our skin,” the trio said in a statement.

American Airlines said it was investigating the incident.

“We take all claims of discrimination very seriously and want our customers to have a positive experience when they choose to fly with us,” it said in a statement. “Our teams are currently investigating the matter, as the claims do not reflect our core values or our purpose of caring for people.”

Meanwhile, lawyers for the plaintiffs alleged the incident follows other instances of the airline mistreating Black travellers.

“American Airlines treatment of the Black men aboard Flight 832—and countless other Black passengers and passengers of colour over many years—cannot be tolerated. Jackson, Joseph, and Veal deserve justice,” attorney Michael Kirkpatrick said.

Attorney Susan Huhta added, “This incident is consistent with a disturbing history of allegations that American Airlines discriminates against Black passengers.”