07-31-2025
A Black woman filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines alleging that the airline’s staff targeted her based on her race. Briana Hicks boarded a flight out of Chicago Midway International Airport and sat in an exit row. As the flight attendant shared information with the passengers seated in an exit row about emergency procedures, Hicks put her phone on airplane mode and set it down. The flight attendant allegedly berated her for being on her phone and demanded that she be removed from the flight after Hicks reported this behavior to two other flight attendants. The airline rebooked her on another flight that landed four hours later (The New York Times).
In her lawsuit, Hicks stated that the other passengers in the exit row appeared to be white, as did the flight attendant in question. One of the other exit row passengers asked the flight attendant why he singled out the actions of the only Black passenger in the row, because some of the other exit row passengers were also on their phones and laptops. This fellow passenger told the flight attendant that Hicks had been listening to the instructions and had put her phone down. The other flight attendants told Hicks that they could not do anything in response to her complaint.
Hicks stated, “Being singled out for mistreatment based on my race was painful enough; enduring that discrimination on top of being publicly removed from a flight and having my entire travel schedule derailed was almost unbearable.” Hicks filed online complaints with the airline. Southwest told Hicks she “failed to adhere to orderly rules of conduct while onboard.” They had the right to refuse transport for “refusing to follow or obey” the crew’s instructions or for engaging in “disorderly, threatening or belligerent behavior.” Southwestern Airlines declined to comment to the NYT because of the pending litigation.