"The series of recent incidents involve troublesome conduct by American Airlines and they suggest a corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias on the part of American Airlines," the civil rights group wrote in the statement.
In one incident of mistreatment, an African-American passenger was asked to move to the coach section of a flight even though she had a first-class ticket, while a white woman traveling with her was allowed to stay in first class.
In another instance, an African-American passenger was forced to give up his prebooked seats on a flight after he responded to "discriminatory" comments made to him by white passengers, against whom no measures were taken for their remarks.
Other instances involve an African-American woman being removed from a flight for having her seat changed without her approval and another African-American woman and her baby being removed from a flight after she asked for her stroller to be retrieved from checked baggage.
In the statement, the NAACP added that "in light of these confrontations, we have today taken the action of issuing a national advisory alerting travelers — especially African-Americans — to exercise caution, in that booking and boarding flights on American Airlines could subject them to disrespectful, discriminatory or unsafe conditions."
In response, American Airlines issued a statement saying, "We are disappointed to hear about this travel advisory as our team members — a diverse community of gate agents, pilots and flight attendants — are proud to serve customers of all backgrounds."
"Every day American [Airlines] is committed to providing a positive, safe travel experience for everyone who flies with us."
