In the wake of United Airlines dragging a paying passenger off its flight this month and creating the greatest PR disaster in aviation history, it’s important to remember something:
DELTA SUCKS, TOO!
We’re not just saying that. Scroll down for proof…
On April 18, a man named Kima Hamilton was on board a flight from Atlanta, Georgia to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The plane had taxied to the runway and passengers were told it was third in line to take off. So they expected to be airborne very soon.
But then 30 minutes went by and the plane remained on the runway.
Then, another 90 minutes passed.
Hamilton, who had previously been told to remain in his seat when he asked to use the bathroom, simply could not hold it any longer.
He got up. He peeed. And he returned to his seat.
And that’s when the trouble started.
“The pilot came on and said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry for the inconvenience but we have to return to the gate and remove a passenger,’” Hamilton told Milwaukee’s Journal Sentinel, adding:
“It escalated to that point that fast.”
Here is a video shot by a fellow passenger on board the flight, as a Delta employee asked Hamilton to come with him… off the plane:
As you can see, Hamilton remains very calm throughout the confrontation.
He doesn’t understand how his actions could possibly constitute dismissal from the aircraft and he refuses to get up and leave, not when he:
- Paid for his seat.
- Had to return home to oversee a field trip for fourth, fifth and sixth graders.
In the above clip, you can clearly hear Hamilton apologize and explaining that he had an “emergency,” stating simply in the face of getting the boot:
“I’m not really clear on why I’m being asked to leave this plane. I purchased this ticket, I had an emergency. I had to pee.
“I tried to hold it the first time and you said I absolutely couldn’t and I’m being kicked off the plane?”
After succeeding in holding his ground against the first Delta employee, a second approached Hamilton and tried to reason with him.
You can watch this back and forth below:
Eventually, Hamilton complied and was removed from the airplane.
No force was used against him.
But Hamilton told local ABC affiliate WISN that FBI agents greeted him after he stepped off the plane.
FBI agents! Because he got up to use the bathroom while the plane was on the ground!
“[An agent] said he came to arrest me, but realized after our conversation, realized that some of the language that was associated with my name wasn’t accurate,” Hamilton told the station.
In the end, Hamilton was partially refunded for his Delta ticket, says he was forced to buy a ticket for a Southwest flight that was three times the price to get back to his family in Milwaukee.
Moreover, all the passengers were forced to leave the plane and then get back on it after this incident, causing them to be over an hour and a half late to their destination.
Said Delta in a statement:
Our flight crews are extensively trained to ensure the safety and security of all customers.
It is imperative that passengers comply with crew instructions during all phases of flight, especially at the critical points of takeoff and landing.
Sure.
Except, in this case, the plane wasn’t taking off or landing.
You could argue this is even more ridiculous than the notorious United Airlines incident; or at least that the reason for kicking Hamilton off the flight was more ridiculous.
At least United had overbooked its plane. It legitimately had to make room for its employees.
But this was an example of a passenger who just REALLY had to pee. And this was how Delta decided to treat him.
We wonder: did Hamilton’s fellow passengers feel more safe and more secure as a result?
