Ethiopian Airlines is under fire after a viral video showed a young Somali woman being forcefully removed from flight ET308 on July 19. The incident, which has sparked widespread outrage on social media, particularly within the Somali community, has led to calls for a boycott of the airline.
The video captures the woman arguing with flight attendants as they attempt to remove her from the plane. She can be heard saying, “I don’t care, that’s not my problem,” and “Do not touch me,” while insisting that a minister, who allegedly took her seat, should be removed instead.
Larry Madowo, a CNN correspondent on the flight, tweeted about the incident, calling it “disgraceful” and noting that the minister did nothing as the woman was forcibly offloaded. Adam Aw Hirsi, a Somali scholar and former minister, also condemned the airline and called for legal action, criticizing both the airline and the business class passengers who did not support the woman. The video has been viewed 5.4 million times at the time of writing.
In response to the backlash, Ethiopian Airlines issued a statement via X (formerly Twitter), claiming that the removal was due to an overbooking situation.
“On the date mentioned above, the flight experienced an overbooking situation. Three individuals with standby economy class boarding passes arrived at the boarding gate just a few minutes before the scheduled departure time of the flight,” the statement read. “They ignored the advice of the Boarding Agent and attempted to board the aircraft bypassing security personnel at the boarding gate. Our staff members courteously asked these passengers to disembark. One passenger acquiesced to this request, while the remaining two were escorted off the aircraft by security due to non-compliance.”
Ethiopian Airlines explained that the standby passengers ignored the boarding agent’s advice and bypassed security personnel. One passenger complied with the request to disembark, while the other two were escorted off the aircraft by security. The airline stressed that the video circulating online does not reflect the true sequence of events and that the affected passengers were accommodated on the next available flight.
Despite the airline’s clarification, the incident has raised questions about the treatment of passengers and the airline’s handling of overbooking situations. Ethiopian Airlines has stated that the affected passengers were confirmed on the next available flight, but it is unclear if the passenger was compensated.
