Senators push Delta CEO to review ‘shameful’ treatment of Marine veteran temporarily booted off flight
Two U.S. senators have sent a letter to Delta CEO Ed Bastian demanding he "reconsider the training" of his employees following a "shameful" incident in which a Marine Corps veteran reportedly was booted off a plane for wearing a T-shirt that raised awareness about military suicides.
The message from Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., comes after Catherine Banks told NBC Bay Area that she was preparing to visit her sister last Wednesday when she was stopped at San Francisco International Airport over her shirt that read "Do not give in to the war within. End veteran suicide."
Banks said to the station that a flight attendant told her the shirt was "threatening" and that "the only way you're going to get back on the plane is if you take it off right now.'" Banks eventually was allowed back onto the aircraft after putting on a sweatshirt, but was told to sit in the rear of the plane instead of the seat she had paid for, according to NBC Bay Area.
"Raising awareness and ending the stigma are integral to improving mental health outcomes and ending our country’s epidemic of suicides. Your employee’s actions ran counter to those goals," the senators wrote in their letter to Bastian, which has been obtained by FOX Business.
MARINE VETERAN TEMPORARILY BOOTED OFF DELTA FLIGHT FOR WEARING ‘THREATENING’ SHIRT: REPORT
"We believe that your employee erred in the application of Delta Airline’s policy, and took action in a manner that would have been distressing to any member of the traveling public," they continued. "Assuming you agree with these statements, we are eager to see your airline publicly take steps to substantiate your support for America’s veterans and combating suicide.
"We urge you to take the appropriate action to not only ensure the passenger is appropriately compensated for the distressing experience, but that you also reconsider the training of your employees to ensure that no individual passenger is treated in such a shameful manner," they also said.
A Delta spokesperson told FOX Business on Friday that the company is preparing a response to the letter.
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The airline told the Marine Corps Times earlier this week that "We appreciate [Banks’] patience as we continued to work to understand what occurred during this event," and "most importantly, we are thankful for her service to our country."
On its website, Delta says it may "refuse to transport or may remove passengers from its aircraft" if a passenger’s "conduct, attire, hygiene or odor creates an unreasonable risk of offense or annoyance to other passengers."
"In this circumstance, the passenger was reportedly wearing a t-shirt with the words, "Do Not Give In To The War Within. End Veteran Suicide," emblazoned on the front. It defies both sound logic and good faith intentions that these 11 words would "create an unreasonable risk of offense or annoyance" to other passengers," Sen. Britt and Sen. Graham said in their letter to Bastian.
"As the purported details of this incident have been outlined in international news reports, we are disturbed and perplexed by the disgraceful manner in which the passenger was treated," they added.
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"Given that over 30,000 active-duty U.S. service members and veterans who have served in the military since 9/11 have died by suicide, we applaud the willingness of anyone working to bring attention to this issue – especially veterans such as your passenger in this case," the letter also said.