United Switches Messages Twice, While Security Officer Faces Leave

Munoz issues conflicting messages to public and employees, as one security officer faces an investigation.

An internal memo sent from United Airlines’ chief executive conflicts with a previous statement of apology for the situation aboard United Flight 3411, as both the airline and Chicago’s airport authority brace for internal reviews. The new revelations come days after a video depicting an individual forcefully dragged off a United-branded flight went viral, leaving passengers aboard the aircraft feeling “shaky and disgusted.”

The incident took place on Sunday, April 9, 2017, after the carrier involuntarily denied boarding to four individuals to accommodate crew members flying from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Louisville. When one of the flyers identified himself as a doctor and refused to give up his seat, Chicago Aviation security officers were called in. Multiple videos posted online show the passenger being pulled and dragged from the aircraft by the personnel.

In the immediate aftermath, United president and chief executive Oscar Munoz issued a statement vowing to “conduct our own detailed review” of what happened. However, in an airline internal memo obtained by the Associated Press, the executive took a different tone by praising and defending the airline staff involved.

“Our employees followed established procedures for dealing with situations like this,” Munoz wrote in the letter, as quoted by the AP. “While I deeply regret this situation arose, I also emphatically stand behind all of you, and I want to commend you for continuing to go above and beyond to ensure we fly right.”

Once the letter was made public, feedback against the carrier was immediate. United stock dropped by four percent in the opening hours of trading at the New York Stock Exchange, before slightly recovering by the end of the day. In addition to blow-back on social media, several public relations experts suggested Munoz handled the situation wrong.

“I think the United board needs to think long and hard about this situation and how it reflects on Munoz’s leadership,” Mark Macias of Macias PR wrote for CNBC. “It may be time to demote him to coach — or remove him from the plane altogether.”

By 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, April 11, Munoz had once again changed his tone. In his third statement, Munoz directly apologized for how the situation was handled in its entirety.

“Like you, I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard,” Munoz wrote. “No one should ever be mistreated this way.

“I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right.”

The airline promised a full internal review of the incident, with results to be released to the public by April 30.

The Chicago Department of Aviation dealt with the situation on their part much faster. In a statement to the Chicago Sun-Times, a spokesperson confirmed one of the officers involved would be placed on leave pending an internal investigation.

“The incident on United flight 3411 was not in accordance with our standard operating procedure and the actions of the aviation security officer are obviously not condoned,” Karen Pride, spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Aviation, told the newspaper. “That officer has been placed on leave effective today pending a thorough review of the situation.”

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