A Spirit Airlines crew kicked seven black passengers off a flight from Los Angeles to Dallas-Fort Worth Monday, and the passengers blame discrimination by white flight attendants.
Police initially escorted one couple off Flight 868 just after 7 p.m., accusing a man of being disruptive when he refused to give up his seat, according to the New York Daily News. But five more passengers -- all black -- were removed from the aircraft after they questioned police and the Spirit Airlines crew.
Nobody was charged with a crime, but police said the airline was within its rights to kick off passengers.
“It’s a business dispute,” LAX police spokesman Rob Pedregon told the Daily News. “It’s up to (Spirit) to define what is disruptive.”
Witnesses say the confusion began when a passenger's seat got double-booked. An argument ensued between that passenger and a white flight attendant, who told him he was a threat and needed to leave. He refused, and police boarded to take him and the woman he was with off the plane, according to ABC-7.
When five other passengers got involved, they were kicked off, too. Passenger Alexandra Wright was among them, and said racial discrimination played a role.
“It was more than just us having a conversation,” she told KCAL. “Why is it that, what, six black people get kicked off the plane?"
Other witnesses cried foul on Twitter.
“I’m really humiliated just of the simple fact that you hear about this kind of stuff in America, you know, discrimination issues,” Wright added. “But to actually experience it first-hand?”
Other witnesses said all the passengers knew one another and that the remaining five elected to get off the flight to stay with their group, according to the Washington Times.
Spirit Airlines released a statement Tuesday afternoon, saying they're investigating:
" We are expeditiously investigating this incident," said spokesman Paul Berry. "Spirit does not tolerate any form of discrimination. Our primary concern is always the safety of our customers and team members."
All the passengers' flights were reportedly rebooked, and Spirit Airlines handed out hotel vouchers.