![]() 前不久,美联航因为禁止穿紧身裤的少女登机而饱受指责,近日该公司又发生暴力驱赶亚裔乘客下机的事件。9日,在美联航一班由芝加哥飞往路易斯维尔的航班上,因航空公司超售机票,一名亚裔男性乘客被执法人员强行拽下飞机。有乘客将现场视频传至网络,视频中该男子在飞机过道上被拖行,脸上血迹斑斑。视频引发众怒,网友纷纷谴责这一“暴行”,美联航因此再次被推上风口浪尖。
A man was violently removed from a United Airlines flight by aviation police officials at Chicago's O'Hare international airport on Sunday, in an incident captured on video by several other passengers.
9日,一名男子被芝加哥奥黑尔国际机场的航空警员强行带下一架美联航航班,其他数名乘客录下了这一事件。 In one clip, posted by passenger Audra Bridges to Facebook, guards can be seen aggressively grabbing, and then dragging, the passenger down the aisle of the plane, which was bound for Louisville, Kentucky. Other passengers can be heard screaming and shouting "Oh my God" and "Look at what you did to him."
乘客奥德拉•布里奇斯发布在脸书网上的视频显示,警员们猛力抓住该乘客,然后将其拖拽到飞机过道上,视频中可以听到其他乘客尖叫惊呼“哦,天啊”、“看看你们对他做了什么”。这是一架飞往肯塔基州路易斯维尔市的航班。 The airline said in a statement that the flight was overbooked, and that no passengers agreed to voluntarily give up their seats. United said airline representatives chose four passengers to leave the plane at random based on ticket class, frequent flier status and check-in time, and that one man selected refused to leave his seat.
Officials then requested the assistance of law enforcement, who forcibly removed the man. Four crew members needed to get on the flight in order to work another one in Louisville or else that flight would be canceled, airline spokeswoman Maddie King said.
The Chicago aviation department said later that one of the officers did not follow protocol and had been placed on leave pending a review. Federal transportation officials said they were reviewing whether United complied with overbook rules.
Passengers from the flight reported that the man was eventually allowed back on the flight, face bloodied and looking confused. Video seems to confirm that, although the reason why is unclear.
According to Bridges, the man is a doctor and told flight officials he was due for a shift at his hospital.
"This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United," airline CEO Oscar Munoz said in a statement to the Guardian. "I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own detailed review of what happened."
In a statement the Chicago police department said that the man became "irate" after he was asked to disembark and that he "fell" when aviation officers "attempted to carry the individual off the flight... His head subsequently struck an armrest causing injuries to his face."
The airlines contract of carriage, an agreement that all customers assent to when booking, does give United the freedom to deny ticketed passengers travel if a flight is overbooked. Passengers are entitled to either cash or a flight landing near the same time as compensation.
United also reserves the right to remove passengers from a flight if they "fail to comply with or interfere with the duties of the members of the flight crew".
不过,这些解释并没有让网友满意,推特上出现了针对美联航的吐槽大会。
面对舆论风暴,穆尼奥斯11日不得不发表声明再次道歉,说美联航对这一事件“负全部责任”,将进行详细调查,并在4月30日前公布调查结果。他称:
"I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way."
美媒报道,美联航暴力驱客事件的受害者系从越南移民的美国华裔医生陶大卫。11日,陶大卫称:“一切都受到了伤害(Everything is injured)”。其代理律师表示:
"The family of Dr. Dao wants the world to know that they are very appreciative of the outpouring of prayers, concerns and support they have received. Currently, they are focused only on Dr. Dao's medical care and treatment."
商业内幕网报道,白宫发言人斯派塞11日在例行吹风会上说,9日发生的美联航暴力驱逐乘客下机事件“令人困扰”(disturbed)。报道称:
"I don't think anyone looks at the video and isn't a little disturbed that another human being is treated that way," Spicer said.
Spicer said he was sure President Donald Trump had seen the video as well.
据CNN网站财经频道报道,受到此次赶客事件的影响,11日美联航股票下跌超过1%,损失市值2.5亿美元。
Of the 613 million people who flew on major US carriers in 2015, 46,000 were involuntarily denied boarding, according to data from the Department of Transportation - less than 0.008%.
The majority of those would have been informed before they boarded the flight, said Charles Leocha, the founder of passenger advocacy group Travelers United. He could not remember seeing a passenger violently dragged off a plane. "It turned my stomach," he said.
US fliers have become resigned to chronic delays and poor service, according to Mr Leocha, and a lack of readily available information about their rights meant they were too dependent on the airline managers in situations like these. (责任编辑:voa365) |