Man kicked off JetBlue flight after shouting racist abuse
A man was removed from a flight by police after shouting racist abuse at fellow passengers onboard the aircraft.
The unnamed white man, who was caught on video by several other travellers during the incident, initially became angry after finding there was no space for his bag in the overhead lockers, reports local media.
He then became embroiled in an altercation with a black woman over seating allocations, which sparked a racist tirade.
In one of the videos taken onboard the aircraft, the man, who is wearing a Burger King cardboard crown, claims the woman had kneed him in the stomach.
“Call the f***ing police right now, I know you saw it,” he shouts in footage shared on social media by Twitter user @KING__MEKA.
“Excuse me, I’m part West African, I can say n****r anytime I want,” he went on.
In other footage shared online, he shouts: “Get that n****r bitch off the plane.”
The following footage contains swearing and racist language
So @JetBlue what y’all going to do about this? Got my lawyer on stand by👌🏾 pic.twitter.com/mbcI5Ry4dK
— 〽️ekA✨ (@KING__MEKA) October 21, 2020
Cabin crew can be heard trying to calm him down and asking him to stop shouting while they sort out the situation, to no avail.
“She kneed me in the stomach,” he says. “I want a f***ing lawsuit right now mother f***er.”
The following footage contains swearing and racist language
@JetBlue pic.twitter.com/Eu6lvy9llt
— 〽️ekA✨ (@KING__MEKA) October 21, 2020
The situation escalated into a full-on fight, with the man shouting the n-word repeatedly and other passengers weighing in and trying to hit him.
Police were called to attend the scene and the man was later filmed being escorted through the airport to applause and cheering from other passengers.
The incident took place on a JetBlue flight from Kingston, Jamaica to New York on 20 October, prior to take-off.
The following footage contains swearing and racist language
A spokesperson for JetBlue told TMZ the man had been banned from flying with the airline: “We have zero tolerance for racism or harassment, and after reviewing this customer’s abhorrent racist behavior, we have determined he is no longer welcome to fly JetBlue.”
The Independent has contacted JetBlue for further comment.
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