United Airlines on Tuesday issued a new public apology in the wake of one of its passengers being forcefully dragged off a flight in Chicago on Sunday evening, which sparked nationwide outrage and criticism from the White House.
The company’s top executive, who’s been under fire for his handling of the debacle, said he takes full responsibility for the incident and promised to “fix this.”
“Like you, I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way,” United CEO Oscar Munoz said in a statement.
“I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right. It’s never too late to do the right thing.”
{mosads}Munoz said the airline will be conducting a thorough review of crew movement, its policies for overselling flights and bumping passengers off flights, and how United partners with airport authorities.
Tuesday’s apology — the second from Munoz — follows in the wake of calls for congressional hearings, a petition demanding he resign and reports that United’s shares had dipped by more than 3 percent.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer also said earlier in the day that the incident was “troubling.”
Initially, Munoz publicly apologized Monday for having to “re-accommodate” passengers. He also sent an internal letter to staff defending the employees and saying they followed all protocols.
Earlier Monday, United issued a brief statement explaining the incident after videos emerged on Twitter of security officers forcibly removing a man from his seat and dragging the distressed passenger by his wrists down the aisle, as other passengers yelled out in protest.
Four seats were needed in order to transfer airline personnel to another destination. But when compensation was offered and no one volunteered to leave, customers were randomly selected to give up their seats.
The man who was dragged off the plane apparently refused to leave because he said he was a doctor who needed to reach his destination to treat patients. Authorities were then brought on board to assist with his removal.
One of the security officers involved has been placed on leave, pending an investigation, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.