The incident sparked wide outrage and United Airlines had to issue an apology
United Airlines (UA) has settled with Dr. David Dao, the Asian American doctor who was dragged off a flight on April 9.
The incident sparked wide outrage and United Airlines had to issue an apology. Now, according to New York Times, Dao’s lawyer has confirmed that both sides have finally reached a settlement on Thursday for an undisclosed amount.
“We are pleased to report that United and Dr. Dao have reached an amicable resolution of the unfortunate incident that occurred aboard flight 3411,†the newspaper quoted Charles Hobard, a United spokesperson. “We look forward to implement the improvements we have announced, which will put our customers at the center of everything we do.â€
One of Dao’s lawyers, Thomas A. Demetrion told the newspaper that United’s CEO Oscar Munoz kept his promise to do the right thing.
“In addition, United has taken full responsibility for what happened on Flight 3411, without attempting to blame others, including the City of Chicago. For this acceptance of corporate accountability United is to be applauded,†Demetrion said.
The airline announced that it would create a new check-in process that would allow passengers to volunteer to give up their seats for compensation, and increased the limit of that compensation to $10,000 from $1,350.
Earlier, the airline officials have said that they would no longer ask law enforcement officers to remove passengers from the flights over booking issues, and crew members would not replace boarded passengers.
On the day of April 9, Dao was returning home to meet his patients in Louisville, Kentucky, from Chicago. He boarded UA Flight 3411. Apparently, the flight got overbooked and UA staff wanted one passenger to get off the plane. When no one volunteered, the staff identified Dao and told him to get off. On his refusal, they started to manhandle him. The incident was caught on camera, which later went viral online. The video showed the UA staff pushing and punching Dao; once Dao yielded he was dragged off the plane, with a bleeding face, by the UA staff.