United Airline is facing yet another PR nightmare.
A video posted to Facebook on Sunday evening shows a man being forcibly removed from one of its flights after he refused to give up his seat.
The man, who according to some social media users is a doctor, got on a Louisville-bound plane at Chicago O’Hare airport not knowing he would be asked to get off the flight a few of minutes later.
According to witnesses, United told passengers at the gate that the flight was overbooked and asked people to voluntarily give up their seats in exchange for $400 and a hotel stay. Bu no one spoke up.
A United rep then got on board and randomly selected four passengers who would be asked to give up their seats. The doctor refused, saying he needed to go home to treat patient at a hospital in the morning.
At this point, three security officers were called. They threw the man against the armrest and started dragging him off the plane.
A fellow passenger, Audra Bridges, filmed the whole incident. The video shows uniformed security personnel pulling the screaming man, his face bloodied, in front of horrified passengers.
“Oh my God! What are you doing?” one woman can be heard saying.
One passenger tweeted: “He told the police and the United employees he had to be at the hospital in the morning to see patients.”
Another passenger said after the incident: “Kids were crying and people are disturbed.”
United Airlines said in a statement: “Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked. After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate. We apologize for the overbook situation.”
This is the second PR blow for the airline in less than a month.
A few weeks ago, United made headlines for all the wrong reasons after stopping two teenagers wearing leggings from boarding a plane.
