The woman, Briana Hicks, a pharmacist from Chicago, boarded a Southwest flight from Chicago Midway International Airport to Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 20 and sat in an exit row. When the flight attendant began briefing the passengers in the row about emergency procedures, Dr. Hicks put her phone on airplane mode and then placed it facedown in her lap, the lawsuit said.

The flight attendant then singled her out for being on her phone and berated her repeatedly, the lawsuit claimed, and later demanded that she be removed from the aircraft when she reported his behavior to two other attendants. She was rebooked on a flight that landed in Washington four hours after her original arrival time, according to the lawsuit.

The suit, filed in Chicago, said that the other passengers in the exit row appeared to be white and that one asked the flight attendant, who was also white, why he was pointing out the actions of the only Black passenger seated there, seeing as others in the exit row were on their phones and laptops as well.

“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,” Dr. Hicks said in a statement.

According to the lawsuit, Dr. Hicks was the only Black person sitting in the exit row. After loudly and repeatedly asking Dr. Hicks to put her phone away, the flight attendant was confronted by the white passenger, who informed him that Dr. Hicks was listening and had put her phone down.

After the briefing, the attendant returned to the front of the plane, at which point Dr. Hicks went to the back of the plane to report what had happened to two flight attendants, who informed her they could not do anything about the other attendant’s behavior, according to the lawsuit.

When the attendant who had confronted Dr. Hicks called the back of the plane on the aircraft’s internal telephone system, one of the flight attendants there informed him that Dr. Hicks was “back here talking about the disrespect she experienced,” the lawsuit said.

Dr. Hicks then tried to return to her seat, but was confronted in the aisle by the original attendant, who informed her that she had to get off the plane, the lawsuit said.

After Dr. Hicks was removed from the flight and rebooked on a later flight, she tried to explain what had happened to airline supervisors in the airport, but was redirected to an online portal for filing complaints. In the days and weeks that followed, Dr. Hicks submitted a complaint and also emailed Southwest executives.

The airline responded to Dr. Hicks’s online complaint and informed her that she “failed to adhere to orderly rules of conduct while onboard, thereby disturbing the good order and discipline on the aircraft” and that they reserved the right to refuse transport to a passenger for “refusing to follow or obey the instructions of any member of the crew, for engaging in a verbal confrontation with the crew members or other passengers” or “for engaging in disorderly, threatening or belligerent behavior.”

This is the third racial-discrimination lawsuit filed against a major U.S. carrier this year. In January, a mixed-race couple sued American Airlines, and last month, four Asian American women filed a joint suit against United Airlines.

A spokesman for Southwest Airlines declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Dr. Hicks seeks punitive damages and coverage of attorneys’ fees, according to the lawsuit.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5754492&forum_id=2Reputation#49130271)

The flight attendant then singled her out for being on her phone and berated her repeatedly, the lawsuit claimed"

lib here, but we all know this isn't how it went down.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5754492&forum_id=2Reputation#49130274)