Is it Safe to Say this Airline Stuff Has Been Happening For Longer Than We Think?

Kima Hamilton is the latest name in what I’m now calling “The Airline Wars.”  Hamilton was in dire need to use the restroom and apparently because of this rushed state he was in, it led to him getting kicked off his Delta flight.    According to USA today

In fellow passenger Krista Rosolino’s view, Hamilton’s removal from the April 18 flight was an outrage and so was everyone else’s forced exit from the plane when it returned to the gate in Atlanta. She took to social media to defend a man she didn’t know.

The Delta Air Lines quick take on this incident is that federal law requires passengers to comply with crew instructions or run the risk of being seen as a security threat. 

“Our flight crews are extensively trained to ensure the safety and security of all customers,” Delta said Wednesday in a statement. “It is imperative that passengers comply with crew instructions during all phases of flight, especially at the critical points of takeoff and landing.”

This is just one of a string of incidents that keep appearing with the airlines.   First a A doctor was dragged off a United Airlines plane in Chicago this month when he refused to give up his seat to make room for airline staff on a crowded flight.  And by by dragged we mean bloodied and pretty much knocked unconscious.

Then a confrontation erupted Friday on an American Airlines jet in San Francisco after a flight attendant yanked a stroller from a passenger and her baby.  The flight attendant and another passenger on the plane nearly came to blows.

So what’s the deal with all of these airline fiascos?  I tell you what I think the deal is.  There is no deal.  This is been happening all along.  We’re just now starting to see more of it because more and more people are recording such incidents with their smartphones.  I just can’t see a coincidence that out of the blue these events just occur all in one week.  This is symptomatic of crappy practices and training by the airlines.   There’s just no way this stuff is isolated.  It’s the reason more and more of these stories keep surfacing.   I personally think it’s industry wide and we may just be scratching the surface here.