United Airlines has been excoriated for how they handled a passenger that refused to leave an overbooked flight. But a pilot’s wife provided a different perspective to consider in a blog post.
The pilot’s wife, Angelia J. Griffin, explains that when she “first saw the video I was appalled too.” But Griffin noted that when a law enforcement officer asks her to do something, she complies, recalling an instance where she “had to remove my infant son’s socks because they mimicked little baby sneakers.”
“I didn’t like it,” Griffin wrote. “I thought it was just plain stupid, honestly. But instead of pitching a massive fit, refusing to comply, and bolting through the TSA checkpoint like an out-of-control toddler, I did the big girl thing – sucked it up, removed the offensive socks, and went on with my happy life, sans being tackled and dragged through the airport in handcuffs by a bunch of big men with guns.
“Because if you choose to take advantage of the services the airport provides, you play by their rules.”
Griffin states that while the rules may seem “unfair,” they’re necessary to ensure that everyone on board is brought home safely.
She then goes through the common complaints that people have been making about United:
- Any airline has the right to kick someone off their plane; passengers consent to that possibility every time they buy a ticket.
- Federal regulations state that certain crew members need to be on the flight or else the flight is canceled altogether.
- Numerous circumstances outside of United’s control could have caused the crew shortage.
- The passenger, David Dao, was selected randomly, there was nothing racist about him being kicked off the flight.
- United didn’t assault the passenger, federal aviation security did; they were not under United’s control. United’s employees shouldn’t be punished for the actions of federal aviation security.
Griffin concluded her post by stating that she wasn’t “making excuses” for United, but that these are points that people should consider before jumping to conclusions about what happened with Dao.