The US National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) has warned African-Americans to "exercise caution" when flying on American Airlines, saying they may face discrimination or even safety issues.

Key points: America's oldest civil rights organisation alleges pattern of discrimination on flights

America's oldest civil rights organisation alleges pattern of discrimination on flights American Airlines says it does not tolerate discrimination of any kind

American Airlines says it does not tolerate discrimination of any kind NAACP advisory highlights four instances of alleged racism

American Airlines' CEO said he was disappointed by the announcement and that the company wants to discuss the matter with the civil rights group.

The NAACP said for several months it had watched a "pattern of disturbing incidents" reported by African-American passengers.

Among them were separate cases in which an NAACP official and another civil rights activist were removed from flights.

NAACP president Derrick Johnson said they were not boycotting American Airlines, but the sheer number of events made them feel like they had to issue a warning.

"We're not telling people not to fly on American," he said.

"We're just saying to individuals that here is an advisory note. We have picked up a pattern of a certain behaviour of this corporation and until further notice, be on alert."

American Airlines issued a statement saying it serves customers of all backgrounds and itself has a diverse group of employees.

In a memo to employees, CEO Doug Parker said American endorses the NAACP's mission statement against racial discrimination.

"We do not and will not tolerate discrimination of any kind," Mr Parker wrote.

"We have reached out to the NAACP and are eager to meet with them to listen to their issues and concerns."

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The NAACP highlighted four recent incidents in which African-American passengers said they were treated in a discriminatory way.

One involved the head of the North Carolina NAACP, the Reverend William Barber, who sued American after the airline summoned a police officer to remove him from a flight last year.

Mr Barber dropped his lawsuit against American in June.

An incident last week involved Tamika Mallory, an organiser of the Women's March on Washington in January, who called the pilot a racist in a profanity-laced exchange as she was removed from the flight.

Ms Mallory took a later flight home to New York on American, then held a press conference two days later and threatened to take legal action against the airline.

The warning is only the second such "travel advisory" issued by the NAACP.

The first was against Missouri, which the organisation announced in August after citing reports African-Americans were more likely than whites to be stopped by law-enforcement officers there, as well as other current and past racial issues in the state.

Unlike the Missouri warning, the American Airlines advisory did not contain quantitative data.

The NAACP has employed full boycotts in the past, including a 15-year economic boycott of South Carolina over the flying of the Confederate battle flag on government grounds, which ended when the flag was removed in 2015.

Last year, a college student said he was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight and subjected to additional questioning by security officers after another passenger overheard him speaking in Arabic before take-off.

Last month, an art instructor forcibly removed from another Southwest flight said she was targeted because she is Muslim; the airline said she had claimed a life-threatening allergy to two dogs that were on the plane, but it quickly apologised for the way the situation was handled.

American, based in Fort Worth, Texas, is the world's largest airline.

The NAACP describes itself as the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan civil rights organisation.

AP