New York passengers sue American Airlines over alleged racial discrimination

NEW YORK (PIX11) -- A group of Black men who were removed from their seats on a crowded American Airlines flight from Phoenix to JFK airport is suing the airline company for racial discrimination.

The passengers claim that a flight attendant on board of the January 5th flight started the ordeal, making a complaint about their body odor.

None of the passengers knew each other and were sitting in various seats throughout the plane, but they suspected foul play and began recording the encounter.

The three passengers, Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal hail from New York. "Every single person that was picked from that plane was the same color as I am," said Veal. "We were all Black men, so it was clearly a targeted situation."

"I never really ran into anything close to an experience like that," said Jackson. "It was completely crazy to me."

After the American Airlines employees failed to find an alternative flight for them, they were allowed to re-board the same flight, but the men say the damage was already done. "It was literally like walking down the aisle of shame," said Veal. "People were staring at us."

"Now every time I get on a plane, it's no longer imagination - it's my reality that something like this can happen again to me, and people who look like me," said Joseph.

Attorney Susan Huhta's firm is representing them and says the American Airlines employee's alleged racial discrimination was not an isolated incident but part of a pattern. "You can do a search on Google," said Huhta. "Put in the words American Airlines and discrimination and you will get a long list of cases."

An American Airlines spokesperson told PIX11 News: "We take all claims of discrimination very seriously and want our customers to have a positive experience when they choose to fly with us. Our teams are currently investigating the matter, as the claims do not reflect our core values or our purpose of caring for people."

The men say they had to wait an hour before being allowed back on, and added they feel badly for the other passengers whose flight were also delayed. The men say for them, justice means American Airlines being held accountable.

American Airlines did not respond in time for this report to follow up questions regarding past allegations of racial discrimination by it's employees.