Racist cheered off plane after telling passengers ‘you people are all the same’
A man accused of being racist was ejected from a Flysafair flight after passengers complained to the pilot about his behavior.
A man accused of being racist was ejected from a Flysafair flight to Port Elizabeth on Algoa Bay in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province after passengers complained to the pilot about his behavior.
In video of the incident, a white man can be seen talking to a black passenger, who apparently said that he was going to a funeral. A female passenger told the captain when he came to investigate the altercation what had happened, saying, “[He] called this gentleman an a**hole and when we proceeded to say to him that’s unacceptable, he said to me: ‘You people are all the same’. Sir, you are legally obligated to keep us safe. I do not feel safe going into the air with this kind of aggression.”
The other passengers backed up her story and agreed with her when she said that the man said “I’ll bliksem you,” a South African term for hitting someone.
The man and his female companion were then kicked off the flight, while the passengers cheered their departure.
FlySafair spokesperson Kirby Gordon said that the pilot had followed guidelines and that the airline was waiting to see if there would be an investigation.
“We are aware of an altercation that took place between two passengers on flight FA232 on Friday 7th April,” Gordon said. “We are awaiting approach from the authorities to provide any required information that would be required to resolve this case. It is the obligation of the Captain of an aircraft to make the final call regarding his view on any potential threats on board the aircraft. In accordance with this, we would like to commend the Captain for following Civil Aviation Safety procedures. Safety is, and will always remain our primary concern.”
