American Airlines just made it harder for staff to kick passengers off planes

Flight attendants are now only allowed to remove a passenger if there is a ‘safety or security concern’

American Airlines is changing its requirements for removing passengers from their flights.

Back in May 2024, the airline received a federal lawsuit after eight Black male passengers were removed from a flight going from Phoenix to New York City due to a complaint about their body odor. The airline has now announced a change to their Inflight Manual that details under which circumstances flight attendants are allowed to remove passengers.

According to images of the Inflight Manual shown on the View from the Wing, blog flight attendants are only allowed to remove a passenger if there is a “safety or security concern.”

If there is a non-safety or non-security related concern, it needs to be brought up by a passenger first and not the flight attendant. Two flight attendants must then attempt to address the issue themselves without removing the passenger from the flight.

If the flight attendants cannot resolve the issue, the captain should then contact the Complaint Resolution Official or CRO. Crew members also have the ability to fill out a Customer Event non-safety/non-security (CERS) form within 24 hours of the incident.

Should there be an incident regarding safety or security the plane’s captain has the final say regarding whether the passenger should be removed and only after a "thorough assessment.”

The policy change was sparked following a lawsuit from three Black men removed from a flight after a body odor complaint (AFP via Getty Images)

The Independent has contacted American Airlines for comment.

This manual adjustment isn’t the first time American Airlines has changed one of its procedures. Last month the airline announced that they were testing a new piece of boarding technology.

Now, when a ticket is scanned during the boarding process a staff member can detect what zone the person is supposed to be in and they will be notified if a passenger is boarding too early. That way, when someone attempts to board the plane alongside the first-class and priority-boarding passengers, they will be directed to the back of the line.

Staff will be able to clear the notification and allow passengers to board early if there is a valid reason.

According to View From the Wing, the airline has been testing the technology in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Tuscon, Arizona. It will soon be tested at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.

“We are in the early phase of testing new technology used during the boarding process,” American Airlines told The Independent in a statement at the time. “The new technology is designed to ensure customers receive the benefits of priority boarding with ease and helps improve the boarding experience by providing greater visibility into boarding progress for our team.”

The boarding process will be split into ten groups, ranging from ConciergeKey members to basic economy. The airline will usually start boarding one group at a time in the 30 to 50 minutes before a flight’s scheduled departure using a priority lane and a general boarding line, which will now have the new scanning technology.

ConciergeKey members are an elite membership status for top-tier frequent American Airlines flyers. After they board, the next group will be first-class passengers, active duty US military with military ID, and AAdvantage Executive Platinum travelers.