New York: United Airlines chief executive officer Oscar Munoz on Tuesday issued an apology for the treatment of a passenger dragged from aboard one of its flights before takeoff on Sunday.
“I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right,” Munoz said in a statement, reversing earlier decisions not to apologise directly for the incident.
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United Airlines sparked outrage on Monday for the treatment of a passenger who was physically dragged off a plane the airline had overbooked, and one of the security officers involved in the incident was placed on leave pending an investigation.
Videos posted online by other passengers showed a man screaming as officers yanked him from his seat on United Flight 3411 before it departed from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday.
The man, who appeared to be Asian, was seen being dragged down the aisle on his back by his hands, body limp, bleeding from the mouth, glasses askew and shirt pulled up above his navel. The videos sparked outrage on social media, the second time in less than a month that United was criticized for its treatment of passengers.
Shares of United Airlines parent United Continental Holdings Inc. fell as outrage on social media over a passenger’s forcible removal from a flight spread across the globe. The stock dropped 3.3% to $69.17 at 9:46am on Tuesday in New York, marking the biggest decline on a Bloomberg index of US airlines. Reuters
