American Arlines Suspends Flight Attendant After Altercation Over Stroller
American Airlines suspended a flight attendant after an altercation on Friday inwhich the attendant took a stroller from awoman traveling with two young childrenand then argued with other passengers.The episode was captured, in part, on video.
The encounter, at San Francisco International Airport, occurred while the woman was boarding a Texas- bound flight. The attendant, whose name was not released by the airline,grabbed the stroller from the woman, who was carrying 15-month-old twins, a passengerwho was nearby said.
A video that circulated on social media showed the attendant nearly coming to blows withanother passenger who threatened him after the altercation with the woman.
"What we see on this video does not reflect our values or how we care for our customers,"the airline said in a statement. "The actions of our team member captured here do not appear to reflect patience or empathy, two values necessary for customer care. In short, weare disappointed by these actions."
"He jerked it away from her and almost hit the baby in the head," Olivia Morgan, thepassenger who saw the episode unfold, said in a telephone interview.
Morgan said that after she complained about the woman's treatment, the attendantshouted at her.
"He yells at me with his finger in my face, 'You stay out of it!"" she said. "Full rage."
Surain Adyanthaya, who posted the video of the altercation on Facebook, wrote that theflight attendant had "violently," taken the stroller, "itting her and just missing the baby."
The video begins after the stroller has been removed. It shows the mother crying.
When the flight attendant returns to the frame, a male passenger rises and threatens him.
The attendant turns to him, jabbing his finger in the air. "You stay out of this!" he says.Then, "Try it, hit me. Come on, bring it on."
"You almost hurt a baby," the man says. "Maybe you'll get videotaped, too, and get all overthe news."
American Arlines said that the woman and her family were put on a different flight. Theairline said it had upgraded the family to first- class seats for the rest of their trip and wasinvestigating the episode.