American Airlines stands down employees who booted eight black passengers off aircraft after blaming them for an 'offensive' odor

American Airlines has stood down employees who booted eight black passengers off a plane after blaming them for an 'offensive' odor.  

The male passengers, who did not know each other, had boarded Flight 832 at Phoenix Airport for the five-hour flight to New York JFK in January. 

The men were seated in different parts of the plane but all were picked out and hauled off the aircraft when a 'white male flight attendant' made a complaint about 'offensive body odor'. 

Three of the passengers taken off the flight have since sued the airline, claiming that they were removed from the flight because of racial discrimination.  

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom told staff this week that he is 'incredibly disappointed' and that they 'failed their customers'. 

'I am incredibly disappointed by what happened on that flight and the breakdown of our procedures. It contradicts our values. We fell short of our commitments and failed our customers in this incident,' he said. 

He also noted that an unspecified number of employees had been placed on leave for their involvement in the incident. 

The company did not name the employees or describe their job titles. 

A spokesperson for the airline said, 'We are holding those involved accountable, including removing team members from service.' 

The CEO also said the company would form an advisory group to focus on the experience of black customers, to promote the reporting of discrimination allegations and to improve diversity training to 'focus on real-world situations to help recognize and address bias and discrimination.'

They had previously said that they 'take all claims of discrimination very seriously'.

'We want our customers to have a positive experience when they choose to fly with us,' they added.

'Our teams are currently investigating the matter, as the claims do not reflect our core values or our purpose of caring for people.'

The three men who have sued the company, Jean Joseph and fellow passengers Alvin Jackson and Xavier Veal, had each taken a connecting flight from Los Angeles before boarding the plane at Phoenix.

Veal decided to record the incident on his phone after noticing that all the black passengers, and none of the white passengers, were being removed.

'I started freaking out,' he said.

Video shows staff in the gate area struggling to find them another flight with one man slamming the incident as 'un-f***ing-professional', and another remarking that 'this ain't no random pick'.

A black American Airlines attendant at the desk appeared to agree with the claim that their removal was racially motivated, admitting: 'I do not disagree with you.' 

Three of the men began talking when they gathered at baggage reclaim at the end of the flight, and they lodged the lawsuit on Wednesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

'They had to re-board the plane and endure the stares of the largely white passengers who viewed them as the cause of the substantial delay,' the lawsuit claims.

'They suffered during the entire flight home, and the entire incident was traumatic, upsetting, scary, humiliating, and degrading.'

The lawsuit alleges that other passengers were informed that the men were removed because of an odor while they were off the aircraft.

'We're walking through the aisle of shame, if you will,' said Veal. 'It was horrible. It was a really traumatic experience.

'Unfortunately, I'm a black man and I live in America.'