Black Family Accuses Airline of Racism After Crew Threatened To Kick Them Off The Flight

A Black family is accusing a Canadian-based airline of racism after they refused to remove a white woman sitting in one of their seats.

In a viral 9-minute TikTok video titled “Racism in Canada,” Adeola Alle claims his wife experienced racism while traveling from Vancouver to Calgary on Flair Airlines with their 12-week-old baby and mother-in-law on Apr.14. After boarding the flight, Busayo Alle saw a white woman sitting in her seat. When she asked her to move, the woman allegedly refused and even gave her the middle finger. She asked the airline crew for assistance, however, they did the opposite and threatened to kick her off the flight if she “didn’t calm down.”

“If you don’t calm down, we need to get you out of this aircraft,” an attendant can be heard saying in the video.

@adeolaalle Racism and Discrimination on flair airline from Vancouver to Calgary @Globalnews.ca @CTVNews #racism #racismincanada #discrimination ♬ original sound – Scholars Pivot on YouTube

Alle posted the video to ask, “If you flip the script, what would have happened?” “My wife kept her cool, but to our dismay — the captain said that this plane has to go, and we want you to sit on that side of the airplane,” Alle said in the video. “We’ve been helping you enough.”

Numerous comments under the video highlighted the racism Black people experience in the country north of the United States. One user said, “There’s so much racism in Canada but it’s covered and never talked about like other countries.” Another said, “Racism in the workplace in Canada is a problem. A very big problem.”

According to Yahoo, Flair Airlines issued a statement from a spokesperson regarding the incident.

“Flair Airlines staff did ask the passenger in 2A to move to her assigned seat, but she refused multiple times. Unfortunately, this caused the situation to escalate,” the statement read. While the airline didn’t address the racism claims, it did speak on keeping passengers safe as its first priority. “We spoke directly to the passenger first to listen to her experience and concerns first hand, to offer our sincerest apologies for any distress, and to discuss ways the airline can remedy her concerns.”