Passengers kicked off plane over dispute about cellphone's airplane mode

Ashley May | USA TODAY

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misidentified the employer of the flight attendant shown in the video.

A flight attendant forced passengers off a Delta Connection flight at Fort Wayne International Airport after a dispute with a black flier over whether or not her phone was turned to airplane mode.

In a post on Instagram, Robyn Rodgers of New York said she was "unfairly ejected" from Delta Flight 4527 after an attendant asked her to turn her phone on airplane mode. The attendant then stood over Rodgers waiting for her to select the phone setting, she said.

"I told her 'I know how to turn on airplane mode, you don’t have to stand over me,'" Rodgers said in a post. "She became agitated and said, 'If you’re gonna act like that we can go back to the gate and you can get off.' I held up my phone to show her that airplane mode was on."

The flight was operated by SkyWest Airlines, a regional airline that Delta contracts with to operate flights to smaller cities. Passengers often are not aware of the distinction because the flights are part of itineraries on Delta's reservation system.

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The flight attendant is an employee of SkyWest, according to an emailed statement from Delta.

Rodgers said the attendant left and came back to her seat, notifying Rodgers the plane would be returning to the gate, where she would be asked to leave the flight. Other passengers, including a Latina woman, who spoke up in defense of Rodgers also were removed, she said.

A total of four adults and a child were removed from the flight. Some commenters suggested the interaction might have been racially motivated.

Video posted by Rodgers shows the attendant saying she asked Rodgers repeatedly to turn her phone to airplane mode. Another video at the airport shows an airline employee telling Rodgers she was removed because the flight attendant felt "unsafe."

Video of the initial interaction wasn't shown.

SkyWest spokesperson Marissa Snow told USA TODAY the airline is reviewing reports from the flight and officials are working with Delta to follow up with customers involved.

A Delta Air Lines representative told WGCL-TV, Atlanta, that the airline accommodated the needs of stranded passengers. Rodgers' said Wednesday the airline did not provide hotel accommodations for any of the passengers forced to stay the night.

Contributing: Joel Shannon, USA TODAY