"It was an overbooking situation," Ethiopian Airlines responds to viral video of passenger removal

The Ethiopian Airlines has issued a response to a viral video circulating on social media, showing a passenger being removed from a flight.

The airline clarified that the incident, which occurred on July 19 on flight ET308 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, was due to overbooking, and the affected passenger was later accommodated on the next flight.

In the video, shared by CNN’s Larry Madowo, a passenger can be seen expressing frustration after allegedly being removed from her seat, reportedly to make way for a minister.

The passenger demanded equality, insisting that the minister should vacate the flight instead.

Responding, the Ethiopian Airlines provided an official statement detailing the incident. According to the airline, the flight faced an overbooking situation, resulting in three standby economy class passengers arriving just before the scheduled departure.

“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 boarding agent advised them that the flight was full and they would be protected on the next flight,” the airline stated.

The airline further noted that despite being advised by the boarding agent that the flight was full and that they would be accommodated on the next flight, the passengers attempted to board the aircraft, bypassing security personnel.

The airline explained that one passenger complied with the request to disembark, while the remaining two had to be escorted off the plane by security for non-compliance. Ethiopian Airlines emphasised that the standby passengers were booked in economy class, and their seating was not influenced by the presence of a VIP passenger in business class.

“It is pertinent to mention that these passengers were booked in economy class, and their seating was in no way influenced by the presence of a non-Ethiopian national VIP passenger in business class. Ethiopian Airlines follows a standard protocol wherein VIPs, Business Class Passengers, and Platinum ShebaMiles members are allowed to board after the seating of all other passengers. 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,” the airline said.

The airline clarified that the affected passengers were accommodated on the next available flight.