CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) – A father is calling for American Airlines to take action against employees who removed his girlfriend and 7-week-old baby off a plane departing out of Charlotte, North Carolina, Sunday.
Allan Steele-Dadzie said it started when the couple was asked to get out of their seat to let another passenger sit down beside them.
“So, we go to get up and my partner was like, ‘Can you give us some space to move out into the aisle?’ I guess she didn’t like the way she said it maybe, or whatever it was, and she said, ‘Is there going to be a problem?’ And my girlfriend said, ‘No, there is not going to be a problem.’ She said, ‘OK, sit down and buckle your seat,’” Steele-Dadzie said.
About five minutes later, the family said they were told they were being removed from the plane.
“She said I was being aggressive. I was not being aggressive,” the mother could be heard saying in cell phone video.
Steele-Dadzie said gate agents told them they would try and rebook them on the next flight, but it was full. The earliest they could get on a plane was more than seven hours later at 8:20 p.m.
“Never in a million years would I imagine that something so small, the micro-est of interactions would result in her deciding that a 7-week-old baby and her mother should be put off a plane,” he said.
In a statement to Nexstar’s WJZY, American Airlines said: “We are actively looking into an incident involving a family traveling with us from CLT to PHL on Sunday, Dec. 5. Our values demand that all customers are treated fairly and with respect, and we find the video posted by the family concerning. We have reached out to the customers involved to understand their experience, and are seeking additional information from other passengers on board and team members who were present. This matter has our full attention and we will take appropriate action as necessary.”
“What we just experienced was traumatizing,” Steele-Dadzie said. “I just really can’t believe that I ended up in this situation. I really can’t.”
He said he plans to hire an attorney.