Activist kicked off American flight charges discrimination
The Associated Press
An activist who helped organize the Women's March on Washington has accused an American Airlines pilot of racial discrimination in kicking her off a flight.
In a series of tweets and a Facebook Live post, Tamika Mallory said a pilot had her removed from a Sunday flight from Miami to New York after she had a dispute with another airline employee over her seat assignment.
"Only reason this pilot got involved was to assert his white male power over who he thought was just some uppity black girl," Mallory tweeted.
American said it apologized for mishandling Mallory's attempt to move from a middle seat to an aisle seat, but it denied the heart of her accusation.
"The American team does not tolerate discrimination of any kind," said spokesman Ross Feinstein. "This was about de-escalating a situation onboard the aircraft."
The crew decided the best thing to do was rebook Mallory on the next flight to New York's LaGuardia Airport, and Mallory took that flight home, Feinstein said.