American Airlines makes it tougher for staff to remove passengers from planes for ‘inappropriate’ clothing and smell

American Airlines has revised its policy regarding boarding passengers from planes, potentially making it more difficult for flyers to “jump.”

“We strive to cultivate a sense of community and provide a travel experience where everyone feels welcome,” the airline wrote in their in-flight manual review, A View From The Wing reported.

The rule changes were prompted by an incident over the summer in which AA was sued after eight African-American passengers were kicked off a flight from Phoenix to New York over a complaint about body odor.

Under the new policy, flight attendants are only allowed to remove passengers if there is a “risk to safety and security”.

Furthermore, any issues should be addressed first by the passengers and not by the crew members.

In the meantime, the issue should be addressed by two flight attendants and they should try to resolve the issue without resorting to removing the allegedly problematic flyer.

The carrier writes that in the “rare event” that resolution of a “non-safety concern” is unlikely, the captain should contact the Complaint Resolution Officer (CRO).

If these weren’t deterrent enough, all flight attendants must submit a Customer Non-Safety/Non-Safety Incident (CERS) form within 24 hours of the incident.

“Our duty to every team member — no matter the circumstances — is to lead with respect, discretion, care and sensitivity,” American Airlines wrote. “Discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, sexual orientation or national origin against any customer or team member is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at American Airlines.”

The rules also state that the captain has the final say on whether a passenger should be removed for safety concerns, and only after a “thorough assessment” of the matter.

Under AA’s current contract of carriage, however, air passengers can still be kicked off the plane because of offensive body odor, this revision just makes it more difficult.

According to A View From The Wing, this change will also mean that removing “inappropriate” clothing will also no longer be at the discretion of a single flight attendant as it was in the past.

In the past, the carrier has come under fire from passengers who were outraged after being kicked out for being poorly dressed.