Over the long weekend, one nightmare traveler — documented by Emma Baum on Facebook — sparked calls for a Delta airlines boycott. The man celebrated Thanksgiving with an unhinged rant that included clapping and whooping to celebrate Donald Trump’s win: “We got some Hillary bitches on here. Come on, baby. Trump! He’s your president, every goddamn one of you. If you don’t like it, too bad.” This shall be his last Delta-bound rant.
After much social media ruckus, Delta was quick to issue an apology and an acknowledgement that this was not ideal behavior and shouldn’t have happened on one of its planes. Now, Delta CEO Ed Bastian has effectively banned (for life!) the “disruptive passenger on DL248.” In a memo to staff, Bastian thanks staffers for serving customers through the hectic and stressful holiday weekend and says he supports his staff through “heightened tension in our society.” However, he does make clear that this behavior won’t be tolerated by staff who witness it:
“This individual displayed behavior that was loud, rude and disrespectful to his fellow customers. After questioning the customer, our team members made the best decision they could given the information they had and allowed him to remain on the flight. However, if our colleagues had witnessed firsthand what was shown in the video, there is no question they would have removed him from the aircraft. He will never again be allowed on a Delta plane.”
Delta can’t be thrilled with fallout from this passenger’s rant, especially after they came under fire this summer for booting a Muslim couple (the man was “sweating,” and the woman was wearing a headscarf) when a crew member felt “uneasy” after overhearing the word “Allah.” However, at least the airline chose to ban the unruly, ranting man for life. No word on whether the man continued his ranting over Thanksgiving dinner. Probably so.
(Via Delta & Washington Post)