United Airlines To Compensate All Passengers On Flight 3411 Over Passenger Removal Debacle
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) — United Airlines said passengers on United Express Flight 3411 are getting compensation equal to the cost of their tickets.
Spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said Wednesday that the passengers can take the compensation in cash, travel credits or miles.
Dr. David Dao, 69, was on a full jet that was scheduled to fly from O'Hare Airport in Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky on Sunday night when he and three other passengers were ordered off the plane to make room for some employees of a partner airline.
The others complied. After Dao refused, airport security officers yanked him out of his seat and dragged him off the plane.
Video of the incident was shown around the world, sparking public outrage.
United CEO Oscar Munoz has apologized for the incident and vowed Wednesday that it will never happen again.
In his most contrite apology yet, Oscar Munoz said no one should be mistreated that way. He described the removal by airport police as "truly horrific."
Munoz is scrambling to contain the damage to the carrier's reputation and vowed to reassess policies for seeking volunteers to give up their seats, for handling oversold flights and for partnering with airport authorities.
Meantime, two more airport police officers involved in the passenger removal debacle have been placed on leave.
On Thursday, the Chicago's aviation commissioner is expected to address a city council committee about the incident.
Dao's attorneys Wednesday filed papers asking the Cook County court to preserve reports and other material related to Sunday's incident.
The attorneys want cockpit voice recordings, passenger and employee and crew lists, incident reports and the city Aviation Department's personnel reports for the police who removed Dao from the plane. The attorneys also want United's protocol for removing passengers from commercial aircraft. But no lawsuit has been filed yet.
They lawyers and a relative of Dao plan to talk to the media Thursday.
A Chicago alderman said representatives from United Airlines and the city Aviation Department have been summoned by his committee to answer questions about Sunday's incident.
Alderman Mike Zalewski said he did not know who will represent the airline before the city council's Aviation Committee. But the CEO of United's parent company, Oscar Munoz, has been notified of the hearing scheduled for Thursday.
Chicago Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans will also speak.
