Black Passenger In First Class Told To Use Restroom At Back Of Plane By AA Flight Attendant

A Black woman from Chicago claimed that she experienced racial discrimination from an American Airlines crew member.

Pamela Hill-Veal, a retired circuit court judge in Illinois, reportedly flew first class with her family on Feb. 10 from Chicago to Pheonix via AA. During the flight, one of the crew members allegedly told her to use the restroom at the back of the plane, according to NPR.

She said that a male flight attendant first accused her of slamming the restroom door, but she just ignored it and proceeded to walk back to her seat.

"The flight attendant stopped me as I was returning to my seat and told me I slammed the restroom door and I was not to do it again since [the] passengers were sleeping on the plane," she said.

Later, Hill-Veal said she got up to go to the restroom in first class for the second time and had another encounter with the same flight attendant.

"He began to berate me by pointing his finger at me towards my face, saying, 'I told you not to slam the door... so from now on, you are to use the restroom in the back of the plane,' while he pointed in the direction of the restroom in coach."

In the complaint she sent to the airline company, as obtained by NPR, she believes that the flight attendant's treatment toward her was racially motivated. She noted that the White passengers who used the same first-class restroom were treated differently.

When the retired judge used the first-class restroom for the third time -- 30 minutes before landing, she claimed that the male attendant followed her to her seat again, touched her and told her she would be arrested upon landing because "he didn't like the way [she] talked to him" and for allegedly hitting him. She claimed that this third interaction drew the attention of other passengers.

"This was a complete fabrication as I told him that I never hit him," she wrote in the complaint, denying the flight attendant's claims.

She also denied the male crew member's claim that she slammed the restroom door the first time she used the first-class restroom.

She added that the incident left her with trauma, humiliation and sleeping difficulties.

"I'm still uncomfortable about flying because I don't know what they're going to say that I did... in an attempt to cover up for what they did during this particular time," she said.

Meanwhile, American Airlines issued a statement to NPR, saying: "We strive to ensure that every customer has a positive travel experience, and we take all claims of discrimination very seriously."

The airline company noted that it had been in touch with Hill-Veal to get more details about the incident.

Tags

Black, Discrimination