Viral video shows passenger being offloaded from Ethiopian Airlines flight to accommodate minister, airline responds

“Ethiopian Airlines kicked out a passenger on my flight because a minister took her seat. They didn’t apologize and they eventually forcefully offloaded her screaming. The minister did nothing. Disgraceful,” wrote Madowo.

In the following threads of the same post, he explained that it was nearly 11:30 pm and the next flight to Nairobi was the next day. The Ethiopian minister witnessed her struggle but remained seated. He added that he had fallen asleep but was woken up by the commotion, suggesting that she wanted the incident to go viral.

The airline explained that on Friday, July 19, flight ET308 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi was overbooked. Three passengers with standby economy class boarding passes arrived shortly before departure and were advised to book a later flight.

Ethiopian Airlines kicked out a passenger on my flight because a minister took her seat.

They didn’t apologize and they eventually forcefully offloaded her screaming. The minister did nothing. Disgraceful pic.twitter.com/RSgDUbbDez

— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) July 20, 2024

Official Statement Regarding Recent Video Circulation
Ethiopian Airlines has watched the circulation of a viral video on various social media platforms depicting a passenger being removed from flight ET308 on July 19th, from Addis Ababa to Nairobi.

— Ethiopian Airlines (@flyethiopian) July 21, 2024

The statement read, “However, 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.”

The airline emphasised that the seating arrangements were not affected by the presence of a VIP passenger in business class. They assured the public that their standard protocol prioritises seating for all other passengers before allowing VIPs, business class passengers, and Platinum ShebaMiles members to board.

“A misapprehension arose among the standby passengers, leading to the distorted belief that their seats had been allocated to a VIP. This is not the case, and the circulating video does not reflect the true sequence of events,” read the statement.

The statement concluded by saying, “We extend our gratitude to our patrons for allowing us the chance to clarify these circumstances before forming any judgments. Ethiopian Airlines is dedicated to the safety and well-being of all our passengers and to the adherence of our established operational guidelines.”

The statement garnered a million views. One user said, “Blablabla… that’s your side of story we need to hear the passenger story. Otherwise give her 12 free flight.” Meanwhile another user said, “This is pure nonsense,so you mean to tell me,the passenger checked in,was given their ticket and passed all the security checks where they even check the ticket in order to board the flight and that’s when you noticed the flight was overbooked?? Wajinga waliisha bana!.”

A third user claimed, “Too Little, Too Late @flyethiopian You cannot take 24 hours to do an investigation. You care more about your image than the customer.Let’s see how that will go. Ask #RutoMustGo: You are tone-deaf as well.”

“I wonder if you have taken time to listen to the lady passenger. She is saying what you are disputing. And are you calling @LarryMadowo a liar?,” added a fourth.