A United Airlines employee accused of calling a black passenger "a brilliant monkey"

A United Airlines employee was charged with using abusive racist language and repeatedly calling a black client "a monkey" and "a brilliant monkey".

Carmella Davano was charged with committing an offense of disorderly conduct after verbally abusing Cacilie Hughes in February 2019.

Hughes, 31, had returned to Houston after a conference in Michigan when she had approached Davano in the United terminal of George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

The actress and co-founder of a non-profit mentorship program told the New York Times that she asked Davano if there was a refund code available.

"She started screaming after me, calling me a monkey," said Hughes, adding that she felt "humiliated" and started crying.

After another United employee refused to intervene and call the police, Hughes called her herself.

Police officers from the Houston Police Department arrived and forwarded to Davano a quote for vulgar and abusive language in a public place after two witnesses confirmed that they had heard her abuse Hughes verbally.

In a statement, United said: "We have retained the employee from his service since the night of the incident pending an internal investigation.

"Once the investigation is completed, we will take all appropriate corrective action, up to and including termination."

Benjamin Crump, a lawyer representing Hughes, said that United failed "to train employees to interact with minority customers."

This is not the first time an airline has been accused of racism.

In 2017, the NAACP, the most well-known US civil rights organization, issued a travel advisory warning African-American pbadengers to avoid flying with American Airlines after a series of racist behaviors in the United States. staff.

L & # 39; Independent reported one of these incidents, where two women traveling on a flight from American Airlines said that their staff members were "racist" with regard to any of them .

Rane Baldwin, who is African American, was traveling with her friend Janet Novack, who is white, from Kentucky to Charlotte when the incident occurred.

Baldwin – AAdvantage Platinum Select / World Elite cardholder – bought the two tickets and decided to upgrade them to first clbad. However, when they were given their boarding pbad, she was ordered to go to the back of the aircraft despite being a frequent traveler, while Novack, who has no status with the airline, was headed in first clbad. Baldwin learned that his seat had been rebadigned because there were not enough first-clbad seats.

"I had the impression of being sent to the back of the bus," Baldwin said.