United Airlines not to fire employees who dragged passenger

New York, April 19 (IANS) United Airlines on Tuesday said that they will not consider firing any employees involved in the passenger dragging incident that happened on its flight from Chicago to Louisville in Kentucky on April 9.

Listing it a "system failure" at a conference call, CEO Oscar Munoz said said that this was a true learning opportunity and would ultimately prove to be a watershed moment for our company, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Chicago-based United Airlines airline is reviewing policies with regard to handling oversold flights to prevent similar incidents, and talking to some passengers and employees on how the airline can take a more "common-sense approach".

In a statement published on April 13, the airline promised that it will no longer ask law enforcement officers to remove passengers from its flights unless it is a safety and security concern, and will fully review and improve the training programs to ensure its employees put customers first.

United Airlines published first-quarter financial results on April 17, posting its first-quarter net income at $96 million, diluted earnings per share at $0.31, pre-tax earnings at $145 million and pre-tax margin at 1.7 per cent.

Last week saw a video going viral of David Dao on social media. The 69-year-old Asian-American physician was violently removed from an overbooked United Airlines flight by security officers to make room for crew members at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago after refusing to give up his seat as requested.