A black passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight has accused the company of racism after she was asked to disembark for not wearing a mask...
A black passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight has accused the company of racism after she was asked to disembark for not wearing a mask while using the bathroom.
Footage shows the woman angrily protesting after she was asked to leave the plane from Denver to Chicago on Thursday.
The woman can be seen loosely wearing a mask over her mouth, but not her nose, during the tirade.
'F*** you all, f*** Southwest, I will never fly with Southwest again', she says while seeming to leave the flight with a companion.
A black passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight has accused the company of racism after she was asked to disembark for not wearing a mask while using the bathroom
She apparently launched the tirade after she was asked to leave because she was not wearing a mask in the bathroom, though she did put the mask back on after leaving the restroom.
Flight attendants chose to remove her after another passenger complained the fact she wasn't wearing a mask was making them 'uncomfortable'.
It was not immediately clear why the apparent offence caused flight attendants to remove her from the flight.
Though it's customary for passengers not to use to the bathroom before the flight takes off, the cabin crew are allowed to let people to use the toilet at their discretion.
Despite seeming to leave the plane, the angry passenger was back on board and gave the steward a piece of her mind.
'Who's processing my refund? Because now I've got to buy another flight for no f***ing reason, so process the refund.'
As someone off camera repeatedly tries to get her to leave the plane, the passenger becomes more angry and throws her coat off the flight in protest.
'No mask?', she says. 'I have a mask on my f***ing face. Process the refund.'
The passenger then turns on someone, presumably a member of staff, standing off the flight.
'F*** you. F*** all of you because that's racist as f***. I don't like racism', she shouts as her mask slips down onto her chin.
'Everybody in here is gonna know whoever the f***ing flight attendant is, he was racist and he was mad for two seconds I didn't have a mask on because I went to a restroom.
'I put a mask on [she pulls the mask back up], I'm sitting here in compliance, and he tells me to get off the flight. So, y'all have a good flight, but this is what happens when you're black in America.'
She apparently launched the tirade after she was asked to leave because she was not wearing a mask in the bathroom, though she did put the mask back on after leaving the restroom
The woman's companion tried to lead her off the plane twice during the tirade, but to no avail
The woman's companion then tries to lead the irate passenger off the flight, but to no avail.
'No! I'm tired. I paid my money. F*** all of y'all... You're gonna come to me with a mask covering my nose and my mouth and tell me to get off the flight because the flight attendant feels uncomfortable, because he's white. F*** you.'
The passenger then pulls off her mask, throws it to the floor, and starts to be led off the plane by her companion.
'Y'all enjoy your flight. This is what happens when you're black in America. You guys all witnessed it. For the first time, when you're black in America they'll tell you to get off the flight', she says.
'A2 and A3, I paid an extra $80 for these ... I've gotta go to work tomorrow. Now I gotta find another flight when I had a mask on my face.'
She then asks passengers recording the incident to put the footage on social media because people need to see 'what happens when you're black in America and you pay your fee, pay your way.'
'Y'all have a safe flight and I love everybody on here and god bless every person on this flight', she says before being led off the flight by her companion.
The woman asked passengers recording the incident to put the footage on social media because people need to see 'what happens when you're black in America and you pay your fee, pay your way'
The footage was taken by Sergio Workman, a 29-year-old technology consultant from Redding, CA, who was on the flight.
He said the flight attendant had already decided the woman would be removed from the flight when he arrived at his seat.
The tirade took place when she returned to collect her belongings, Workman said.
He added: 'After she left the flight, there were murmurs of what had happened but no public announcement made from the crew.
'I felt the airline was discriminating only because they did not give her a fair chance to comply, simply resorted to removing her and her guest from the plane.
'There were no other passengers actively not wearing their masks but I did witness and hear multiple occasions where passengers were given a chance to correct their face covering versus being removed from the plane.'
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