American Airlines settles lawsuit filed by 3 Black men who were ordered off a flight

American Airlines said Thursday it has settled a federal race discrimination lawsuit filed by three Black men who were ordered to deboard a flight last January.

monetary details of the settlement weren’t released. American called it an “amicable resolution” to the lawsuit, which was filed in May in federal court in recent York.

“The agreement allows all parties to shift forward and focus on what matters most – ensuring a secure and inclusive trip encounter for every customer,” the corporation said in a statement.

The plaintiffs – Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Xavier Veal – said they and five other Black men were ordered to deboard an American flight from Phoenix to recent York on Jan. 5, 2024, after a flight attendant complained about an unidentified passenger’s body odor.

In their lawsuit, the three men said they weren’t responsible for any body odor, weren’t seated near each other and didn’t recognize each other before the incident. American offered to rebook them, but when it became obvious after about an hour that there were no other available flights to recent York that evening, they were allowed to reboard the plane.

American Airlines has since fired the flight attendants responsible for the incident, the plaintiffs’ attorneys said.

“We are very pleased that American Airlines took our complaint seriously and we aspiration that this never happens to Black passengers or any other people of color again,” the plaintiffs said in a statement. “Our objective in speaking out has always been to make transformation. We are proud that we used our voices to make a difference in the lives of Black Americans.”

In a note to American Airlines staff in June, CEO Robert Isom said the incident was unacceptable.

“I am incredibly disappointed by what happened on that flight and the breakdown of our procedures,” Isom wrote. “We fell short of our commitments and failed our customers in this incident.”