Top 5 air scandals: draging off United Airlines, dangerous cello and too long volleyball player legs
The most notorious cases when passengers were expelled from flight or not allowed to board
For too long legs, in a hurry to see patients, inappropriate dress code, false accusations of terrorism and love for music. How are people expelled from plane and what for? Realnoe Vremya gathered the top 5 air scandals when passengers with tickets could not fly for doubtful reasons.
Hard landing down to loss of consciousness and beaten face
American United Airlines have been in the centre of a scandal this week. On 11 April, the security staff of the Chicago airport violently dragged off a passenger who refused to give his ticket to other passengers due to overbooking.
Four employees of the airline were also going to fly. The passengers were asked to take another flight for a $800 compensation. There were not volunteers, then United chose four people who had to leave the plane with a computer.
One of the passengers refused to obey saying he was a doctor and was going to meet his patients. Then three security workers violently dragged the man off and split his lip. The ''transportation'' towards exit was so violent that the passenger screamed with pain and even lost consciousness. The travellers shot the incident on their phone cameras and spread the video in social networks.
The video caused a wave of indignations that the airline director had to apologise and the Chicago airport launched an investigation of the incident having suspended one of the security employees from work during the investigation. When the article was prepared, United Continental shares cheapened by 3,6%. The company will lose over $750 million of $22,5 billion of capitalisation.
No leggings and decolletage
The high-profile incident with the violent removal of the passenger from the plane is not the only scandal with the same U.S. airline. Two weeks earlier United Airlines representatives refused to allow two girls to fly from Denver to Minneapolis having considered their leggings too provocative.
Another 10-11-year-old girl had to put on a dress for the same reason. Only then they were allowed on board. Having known about this case, the company's clients including many celebrities decided to refuse the services of the air carrier due to funny rules with respect to passengers' appearance.
The passengers this morning were United pass riders who were not in compliance with our dress code policy for company benefit travel.
— United (@united) 26 марта 2017 г.
The teenagers had to change their clothes and take another flight.
Another passenger did not comply with the dress code in February but in the plane of another airline. Spirit Airlines said the young woman could not fly due to her low neck. The Florida citizen was asked whether he had drunk alcohol. The girl said he had not. Then the employee asked the passenger to cover up her dress neckline. If not, she would not be allowed to board.
Too long legs
Not only American airlines ask to leave the plane for curious reasons. Russian Pobeda low-cost airline became known recently. Airline workers expelled a volleyball player for too long legs.
According to a representative of the airline, special rules are applied to cheap flights. Fakel player Aleksandr Kimerov was asked to leave the plane because he had not taken his seat.
The athlete was going to fly from Samara to Moscow. Due to his height – 215 cm – the man did not fit in the seat written in the boarding pass. This is why he occupied an empty seat. But a flight assistant did not like that the volleyball player extended his legs in the passage. The worker called security workers having told Kimerov violated seating rules. Several police workers tried expelling the volleyball player by force. Then he left the plan on his own. The club is waiting for official apologies.
Not terrorist but not allowed to be in plane
Hero of Realnoe Vremya's articles Bashkir truck driver Andrey (Ilyas) Nikitin who erroneously was accused of implication in the blasts in Saint Petersburg was the victim of another air scandal. The man voluntarily came to the police station and proved he is not a terrorist on the same day. However, it was useful for dishonest media that continued lying about Nikitin as dangerous criminal. As a result, passengers of the flight that Nikitin was going to take to go home on 4 April decided not to allow him to board.
Andrey managed to go through passport control, but Rossiya Airlines did not let him enter the plane due to protests of the scared passengers who were confused by the man's appearance — he wore clothes according to Muslim canons – as well as false messages that he could be a terrorist. Nikitin had to leave the plane.
''I could not fly with Rossiya Airlines to Orenburg. I was removed from the board by the security personnel of the airline. They also cannot go against public opinion. They apologised and wanted to board me on another flight, but then they decided to transport me by another airline,'' the truck driver told in an interview to Realnoe Vremya.
''Cello was a danger for passengers''
Another passenger was asked to leave the plane for a doubtful reason in the USA. John Kaboff purchased a seat next to him for his cello. But the board commander said the instrument was a danger for passengers because it can be belted in the seat properly.
The musician was asked to leave the plane. Later he told about the incident on his page in social networks. When the scandal became known, the airline representatives contacted the man and apologies having promised a free flight.
A similar case happened again to United several years ago. Its workers prohibited country musician Dave Caroll to take a $3,500 guitar on board. The performer had to register it as luggage. As a result, careless porters broke the guitar. The passenger tried receiving compensation from the company. When he did not manage to do it, he wrote United Breaks Guitars. The video about the musician's trials had 16,7 million views on YouTube while the United shares dropped by 7,3% within four days.