A House Democrat who represents Chicago issued a scathing statement Monday condemning United Airlines for its passenger dragging incident and warned “this is far from the end of the story.”
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., blamed the airline for the incident Sunday that ended with a passenger on an overbooked flight forcibly dragged off the plane after refusing to give up his seat.
The incident, which was caught on video, is “one of their own making,” Schakowsky said, because the company overbooked the flight and forcibly removed the passenger instead of increasing the monetary compensation enough to attract volunteers to leave the plane. The airline had offered $800, but no passengers volunteered.
Schakowsky described the move by police to drag the man from his seat and down the aisle of the airplane, apparently injuring him along the way, “excessive force.”
The response issued by United on Monday is “absolutely unacceptable,” Schakowsky said.
United CEO Oscar Munoz apologized in a statement Monday. He called the incident “an upsetting event to all of us here at United.”
Munoz apologized “for having to re-accommodate these customers.”
Schakowsky called the apology “completely insulting” and called out the company for trying to blame police for the incident.
“At a minimum, United Airlines must immediately change their policy and give full restitution and compensation to the victim,” Schakowsky said. “This is far from the end of the story.”
