Passenger Who Shouted Praise for Donald Trump on Plane Banned from Flying Delta: CEO

The passenger who disrupted a flight headed from Atlanta to Pennsylvania shouting praise for President-elect Donald Trump will never again be allowed on a Delta flight, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a memo sent to employees on Monday.

On Saturday, Delta apologized to passengers on board the flight Nov. 22, saying the man should have been removed from the flight.

"As you may have heard by now, last week a video began circulating around the internet showing a disruptive passenger on board a Delta flight. This individual displayed behavior that was loud, rude and disrespectful to his fellow customers," Bastian wrote in the memo. "After questioning the customer, our team members made the best decision they could given the information they had and allowed him to remain on the flight. However, if our colleagues had witnessed firsthand what was shown in the video, there is no question they would have removed him from the aircraft. He will never again be allowed on a Delta plane."

In addition to apologizing to the customers on board the flight, Delta said it will also refund them the cost of their tickets.

It is not clear why the man started shouting Trump's name. The beginning of the video shows the man's apparent surprise that no one on the plane is saying anything, although it is not clear what he was talking about.

In the video recorded and posted to Facebook, the man is then heard screaming, "Donald Trump baby!" "That's right this man know what's up," he said, pointing to another passenger who apparently agreed with him, although the passenger's reaction was not caught on camera.

Most of the passengers remained quiet and did not respond to the disruptive passenger's statements.

"We got some Hillary b----es on here," he then said before going on to say Trump's name with jubilance a few more times.

"He's your president. Every goddamn one of you. If you don't like it, too bad," he said before sitting down.

Below is the full memo Bastian sent to employees:

Thank you for the amazing job you did running our operation and taking care of our customers during the busy Thanksgiving holiday. At Delta, we strive to deliver a safe and reliable product while providing a customer experience that is second to none. You come to work every day prepared to serve our customers and to take care of each other while also dealing with the unexpected.

As you may have heard by now, last week a video began circulating around the internet showing a disruptive passenger on board a Delta flight. This individual displayed behavior that was loud, rude and disrespectful to his fellow customers. After questioning the customer, our team members made the best decision they could given the information they had and allowed him to remain on the flight. However, if our colleagues had witnessed firsthand what was shown in the video, there is no question they would have removed him from the aircraft. He will never again be allowed on a Delta plane.

Part of being a reliable travel partner and a servant leader is acknowledging our mistakes so we can learn from them and respond more effectively in the future. Delta has apologized to the customers onboard that flight. We are also refunding those customers the cost of their tickets.

I also want to make sure all of you know we have your backs. The heightened tension in our society means that now more than ever we must require civility on our planes and in our facilities. We must stay true to Delta’s core values and treat one another with dignity and respect. We also must remain committed more than ever to the safety of our customers and our crew members. We will not tolerate anything less.
Again, thank you for all you do.

Patch file photo