Story at a glance
- Passengers on an EasyJet flight out of London came together to protest the removal of two Black men from the flight.
- The incident occurred on Thursday as a flight was taxiing and preparing for takeoff from London Gatwick Airport to Malaga in Spain.
- The men were allowed to remain on the flight while the flight crew was replaced; however, the airline said they were not replaced because of the complaints.
Video caught the moment passengers on an EasyJet flight out of London came together to protest the removal of two Black men from the flight.
The incident occurred on Thursday as a flight was taxiing and preparing for takeoff from London Gatwick Airport to Malaga in Spain. According to passenger Luke Gayle, flight attendants alerted police and had the plane return to the gate to remove two Black men from the flight for “huffing at a member of the crew” when they were asked to put their shoes back on until after takeoff.
@easyJet attempting to remove 2 black boys from the flight for huffing at a member of the crew ! Absolutely disgusting. We’ve been delayed 2 hours and counting! Police on board @Gatwick_Airport #gatwick #lgw @SurreyPolice @TheSun #Easyjet pic.twitter.com/hkC3Aa4rb4
— LG (@LPGLDN) August 5, 2021
As the police came aboard to remove the two men, passengers can be heard protesting on the video, telling the men, “no, don’t get off,” as well as “sit down.”
Following the protests of passengers, the men were permitted to stay on the flight and the flight crew was replaced. However, in a statement to the Daily Mail, EasyJet said the crew was replaced due to them exceeding time limits on their shifts and not because of complaints from the incident.
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“EasyJet does not discriminate against any individual. Safety is our highest priority and there is nothing to suggest that discrimination played any part in the issue onboard,” the statement read, adding, “Our crew must ensure that safety requirements are followed by all passengers and as part of their role must check prior to take-off that everyone is compliant with these.”
EasyJet said it will be investigating the incident.
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