The situation involving a forcibly ejected (69-year-old) doctor from a United Airlines flight somehow grows worse as time passes. The Chicago Aviation Police Department did place one cop on administrative leave after the bloodied passenger was dragged down an airplane aisle. Yet that didn’t happen before the department stated that the passenger “fell” rather than being slammed around by at least one officer. Now, the Feds are probing the incident with the airline itself coming under scrutiny.
The entire situation began to unfold when United overbooked its flight and began asking for four volunteers to deplane in exchange for vouchers. No one would budge, which is when the airline selected the doctor to leave. He refused due to his patient commitments, and the situation then grew violent. The Department of Transportation wants to know whether United violated federal law by failing to comply with the oversales guideline:
“The Department of Transportation (USDOT) remains committed to protecting the rights of consumers and is reviewing the involuntary denied boarding of passenger(s) from United Express flight 3411 to determine whether the airline complied with the oversales rule. The Department is responsible for ensuring that airlines comply with the Department’s consumer protection regulations including its oversales rule. While it is legal for airlines to involuntary bump passengers from an oversold flight when there are not enough volunteers, it is the airline’s responsibility to determine its own fair boarding priorities.”
All of the guidelines involving the oversales rule and fair boarding priorities can be found at the Department of Transportation‘s website. While airlines routinely overbook flights, United’s clearly now under a microscope for how they handed this situation. Meanwhile, United CEO’s latest praised employees and was promptly roasted, and Jimmy Kimmel mocked the situation in his own special way. What a disaster.
(Via Business Insider)