By Bill Parry
The Port Authority Police Department will not help airlines remove paying passengers from overbooked flights, nor if they need to make room for crew members. The commander of the PAPD has warned his officers not to make the same mistake that occurred last week in Chicago when Dr. David Dao was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight in Chicago.
After refusing to give up his seat for a United Airlines crew member who needed to catch a connecting flight, the 69-year-old doctor was physically dragged from the plane by airport police and suffered a broken nose, a concussion and the loss of his two front teeth. Video of the incident went viral on social media, sparking international outrage and leading PAPD Superintendent Michael Fedorko to draft a policy statement which was read to all officers.
“In the event an airline overbooks a flight and the airline determines that it is necessary to remove a passenger/s from the overbooked flight, PAPD will not assists in the physical removal of the passenger from the flight to accommodate the airline’s request,” Fedorko wrote. “If/when an airline representative calls your respective command for such assistance, the tour commander or commanding officer will inform the airline this is an internal, non-law enforcement related matter and the PAPD will not respond to this type of request. This action will be documented in CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) and timely notification will be made to your respective Line Chief. As with all operational response matters, however, please examine each instance on a case-by-case basis to determine the totality of the incident before reacting or responding.”
The order was read during roll call and a briefing session last week. The PAPD patrols LaGuardia and JFK International airports.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
