Black couple to sue American Airlines after they were kicked-off flight with their newborn
A Black family traveling with a newborn baby was allegedly kicked out of an American Airlines flight on Sunday, December 5, while they were on their home to Philadelphia from Charlotte, North Carolina. The family has now planned to take legal action.
In a video that is now viral, Allan Ali and his partner, Kamia Hoilett, were asked to leave the flight with their newborn child after a negative interaction with a White male passenger and a White female flight attendant. According to Ali, the incident took place when he and his partner, who was holding their baby, stood up to let a man, who was sitting in their row, into his seat. Ali said the man aggressively told them, "Y’all have to get up.”
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Ali claimed that they tried to exit the row to let the man in, but a flight attendant blocked the path. When Hoilett asked her for space, the employee responded, “Is this going to be a problem?” The situation escalated when the attendant ordered Hoilett to sit down and buckle her seatbelt in “a passive-aggressive tone.” When Hoilett told the attendant that she disliked the manner in which she was being spoken to, the employee "stormed off" and reported the incident to the captain. The captain allegedly asked the flight attendants to remove the family from the flight.
In a video that is now viral, Hoilett is heard repeatedly saying, “I didn’t do anything.” The couple had to ultimately leave the flight with their child, and were able to depart Charlotte at 8:20 pm. American Airlines told the Grio that the company is investigating the incident. “Our values demand that all customers are treated fairly and with respect, and we find the video posted by the family concerning,” the company said in an emailed statement. “This matter has our full attention and we will take appropriate action as necessary.”
In another recent incident, Meek Mill, a 34-year-old “Hot” artist, accused a flight crew member of racism. The rapper, born Robert Williams, accused the crew member of “acting real racist” after he and his entourage were asked if they were smoking weed immediately after they boarded a private jet. Mill posted the interaction, which he filmed, on social media, where the crew member can be seen asking if their group was smoking on the plane, even though they had boarded just “30 seconds ago”. “So you just said we was smoking on a plane, we just came on here 30 seconds ago,” the Philadelphia native said to the crew member, who responded saying he smelled marijuana. “But where are we going to smoke at if we just stepped on here 30 seconds ago?" Mill said, adding, "Like, where would a blunt be rolled up at if we just sat here?"
“I’m sorry, I’m going to try and fix this problem,” the attendant said. Mill demanded that he and his group be allowed of get off the jet. “Let us get off this plane, because I don’t feel safe on this plane anyway. C’mon, let’s open the door,” Meek said. “You acting real racist right now, like, real crazy. Was we smoking weed? F–k wrong with you?”
“He asked was we smoking weed on his plane… We just got on 20 seconds ago … racist pu–y slowed my whole day up??? I need to book a plane in NYC ASAP!!! His energy from when we walked up I knew he racist! Just look what company is this jet under," Mill said in the video clip. The incident angered social media users, with many of them supporting the “Dreams and Nightmares” artist.
MEAWW has reached out to Allan Ali and Kamia Hoilett for a comment.