“Powerless” is what a Black woman says she felt after being forced to move from her seat on a recent Delta flight for two white women.
Camille Henderson tells ABC 30 she was traveling to Atlanta from California with her boyfriend in late January. It was a significant trip she planned because it was the first time her boyfriend met her family.
But the excitement from the trip turned into disappointment on the February 3rd return flight when she says she went from row 15 to row 34 – all the way in the back of the plane – for two white women who told the flight attendants mid-flight they felt they purchased better seats.
“They felt like they were ticketed first-class seats, but they couldn’t provide the tickets,” says Henderson stated.
The complaints went on for so long that it prompted Henderson to start recording part of the exchange.
ABC 30 reports that on the video, one person can be heard saying, “Unfortunately, my first class seats are occupied.”
Another passenger asks, “They’re what.”
The first person responds, “They’re occupied.”
Black Woman Moved To Black Of Plane Mid-Flight
Delta’s solution to the women’s frustration was moving Henderson to the Black of the plane. She says she complied because she didn’t want to cause a scene on the plane.
“I don’t want to make it a race thing, but instead of asking the two white women that were seated next to me [to move], in an attempt to accommodate them, they basically made me have to move. I just don’t know why I had to move because that was the seat that I paid for, that was my assigned seat,” Henderson says.
She adds, “As I’m walking back there it’s just humiliating. It’s like having the entire flight look at you and asking what’s going on?”
If the entire situation wasn’t degrading enough, she says the airline’s customer service did nothing to accommodate the experience.
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An airline spokesperson tells Travel Noire:
“Delta does not tolerate discrimination in any form, and these allegations run counter to our deeply-held values of respecting and honoring the diversity of our customers. While the intention of our flight crew was to provide a comfortable experience for all, we understand the sensitivities at play and sincerely apologize for this customer’s experience. As always, we appreciate such feedback so that we may continue to learn and improve.”
As for Henderson, the once-loyal Delta flyer says she’s done with the carrier.
“Never. Never again,” she says when asked if she would fly Delta again. “Me, as a Black woman, I was displaced to make two white women comfortable. That doesn’t make any sense to me.”