Boycott American Airlines: Flight Attendant Incident With Stroller, Passenger Gives United Run For Its Money

Travelers across the country may have looked to American Airlines as a viable alternative to United Airlines after a United flight attendant forcibly removed a passenger from an overbooked flight, but now American Airlines is in hot water over a similar incident, with some customers calling for a boycott.

According to USA Today, a video was posted on social media Friday night of a woman in tears after an American Airlines flight attendant forcibly removed a stroller from the female passenger and her babies. The passenger who uploaded the video, Surain Adyanthaya, stated that the male flight attendant “violently took a stroller from a lady with her baby” and allegedly hit her, “just missing the baby.”

The video depicts the woman holding one of her babies and hysterically crying, while other passengers discuss the incident in hushed tones, with some explaining to other crew members that the flight attendant violently seized the woman’s stroller. Another passenger is not so quiet. This man gets up and walks towards the front of the plane. He asks for the offending flight attendant’s name.

“What that’s guy’s name that did that with the stroller? I want to know his name personally. This is ridiculous.”

The man returns to his seat, leaving the scene briefly. The stroller-less baby is also initially crying along with her mother, eventually calming after a few minutes. The mother is not so easily soothed and remains visibly upset throughout the entire video. A moment later, another female passenger appears to be speaking to the captain, stating “That’s not okay,” before returning to her seat.

At that moment, the man who asked for the flight attendant’s name comes back with a vengeance, pointing at the crew member and shouting, “Hey, Bud, you do that to me and I’ll knock you flat!”

The attendant, visibly agitated, points to the man, replying, “You stay out of this!” The two men walk up to each other, nearly coming to blows, with the flight attendant shouting, “Try it. Hit me!”

The captain and a female flight attendant then proceed to separate the two men. The male passenger goes back to his seat, where he is still arguing and pointing at the male flight attendant, who again responds with anger at the confrontation. The female flight attendant walks the male flight attendant back, trying again to deescalate the situation. The captain meanders into the cockpit and back out again, pacing and seemingly not knowing what to do, before the video cuts off.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155979499894018&set=a.484407939017.256708.778784017&type=3&permPage=1

Adyanthaya followed up her video with a Facebook post, stating that American Airlines “in-voluntarily escorted the mother and her kids off the flight and let the flight attendant back on, who tried to fight other passengers,” according to USA Today. The flight then took off.

This incident occurs nearly two weeks after a United Airlines‘ decision to injure Dr. David Dao and drag him screaming out of the airplane after his refusal to leave the flight sparked nationwide outrage and calls for a boycott, according to the Inquisitr. Undoubtedly, American Airlines was an option among the list of alternatives to United. But now, Twitter users are calling for an American Airlines boycott as well.

@AmericanAir great job. With all these boycotts are there any airlines left to fly? #boycottamericanairlines #fail https://t.co/rZqIF4VzIc

— Control (@lipinsky) April 22, 2017

According to USA Today, American Airlines released a statement apologizing for the incident.

“We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident. We are making sure all of her family’s needs are being met while she is in our care.”

Apologizes do not seem to matter to Americans calling for more material consequences for the American Airlines flight attendant’s brutal act of grabbing a stroller from a mother with babies. It remains to be seen whether this new boycott will have an effect on the way American Airlines treats its customers.

[Featured Image by Lynne Sladky/AP Images]