Man Dragged Off Overbooked United Airlines Flight At O’Hare Airport

CHICAGO (CBS) — A man was dragged off a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville on Sunday night, after the flight was overbooked, and the passenger refused to leave voluntarily.

Facebook user Audra Bridges posted video of three men in uniforms forcibly removing the man from Flight 3411 at O’Hare International Airport on Sunday.

Someone can be heard screaming as three men in uniforms forcibly removed the man from his seat and began dragging him down his aisle. One woman said, “Oh my God. Look at what you did to him” as the man was taken off the plane.

United Airlines spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said the flight was overbooked, and the crew asked for volunteers to give up their seats.

“After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate,” McCarthy said in an email. “We apologize for the overbook situation. Further details on the removed customer should be directed to authorities.”

Bridges told the Courier-Journal in Louisville that passengers were offered $400 and a hotel stay to take another flight after they were informed the flight was overbooked, but passengers were allowed to board.

She said, after the flight was filled, passengers were told four people needed to give up their seats so airline employees on standby could get to Louisville for another flight, and the plane would not take off until those United employees had seats. United then offered $800 to volunteers, but no one accepted, and a manager picked four people at random.

According to Bridges, the man who refused to leave said he was a doctor who needed to see patients in the morning.

from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2oYxrog