(Photo: Richard Drew)
Videos of a United Airlines passenger Dr. David Dao being bloodied and forcefully dragged and from his seat off of a full flight due to overbooking were all over the internet this week. An official statement statement from United’s chief executive Oscar Munoz read that he apologized for having to “re-accommodate these customers.” His words were ill-received by the public who feel that he minimized the severity incident.
Once the videos of Dao gained attention on the internet, customers boycotted United by posting pictures of their United loyalty cards cut into pieces. Many, especially Chinese, social media users accused the company of racism because Dr. Dao appears to be Asian. Social media has served as a platform for a flood of complaints directed at the airline, such as one woman’s tweet which read, “Nice to know ‘re-accomodate’ on United now means ‘drag you violently out of your seat.”
But social media activists are not the only ones unhappy with the company’s
misjudgement. Leaders of the Senate commerce committee wrote a letter to Munoz which stated “The last thing a paying airline passenger should expect is a physical altercation with law enforcement personnel after boarding, especially one that could likely have been avoided.”
After backlash about his initial statement, Munoz release another in which he says, “We recognize that our response yesterday did not reflect the gravity of the situation. And for that we also apologize. Our focus now is looking ahead and making this right.”
Alanna Shingler Staff Reporter