United changes policy so crew members will no longer displace customers on planes

United Airlines planes.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In the aftermath of the much-publicized dragging of a passenger off of a United Airlines flight last week, the company has changed its policy that gave crew members the authority to displace customers already onboard planes.

On an overbooked flight last Sunday from Chicago to Louisville, United said four crew members had to get to Kentucky, and after passengers did not volunteer to give up their seats, the airline picked four people to get off the flight. Dr. David Dao refused to leave, and he was dragged off the plane; other passengers filmed the incident, and the video went viral, causing outrage.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.