A number of passengers were removed from a Delta Air Lines flight at Fort Wayne International Airport after a disagreement between a flight attendant and a passenger who refused to turn her phone to its aeroplane mode.
Robyn Rodgers from New York used social media to tell how she was “unfairly ejected” from The Delta flight. She claims the flight attendant “rudely” instructed her to place her phone in its 'safe' aeroplane mode before the aircraft could take off.
She claims she obliged while the flight attendant “menacingly stood over me with her arms folded waiting for me to do it.”
It was then that the argument ensued, the flight attendant saying she'd asked Rodgers numerous times to change the settings on her mobile phone, yet Rodgers insisted it was only once. A passenger in seats over the aisle of the aircraft tried to step in and defend Roberts, then began filming the incident.
Roberts claims she was asked just once.
Another woman also became involved in the incident and then according to reports, three additional adult passengers became embroiled in the dispute, prompting the crew to return the aircraft to the terminal departure gate where the passengers were off-loaded.
When the short video surfaced on social media, some of the commenters gave the opinion that it was a race-motivated incident, although the video only shows a tiny portion of the interaction, after the flight attended began to feel threatened by the passengers.
A SkyWest spokesperson gave a brief statement "We take all allegations of discrimination seriously and are reviewing reports from SkyWest flight 4527 operating as Delta Connection. We are disappointed that our customers had this experience and are working with our partner Delta to follow up directly with the customers involved."
It is understood the flight attended concerned has been removed from lying duties as a SkyWest investigation is carried out.
