United Airlines Worker Captured Shoving 71 Year Old Man To The Floor

The airline was embroiled in controversy two months ago when footage emerged of a passenger being forcibly removed from his seat because of an overbooking issue.

The doctor reached an 'amicable settlement' with the airline, according to the Independent, after his story reached a worldwide audience.

Following that, the airline was bugged with a flurry of bad press, ranging from a scorpion landing on a passenger's head, to figures showing United killed the highest number of pets compared to any other airline.

But now, United is facing another public relations nightmare after footage emerged showing a staffer shoving an elderly man to the ground.

The 71-year-old, Ronald Tigner, is now suing the airliner for negligence and is seeking $1 million (£782,000).

Credit: KPRC

The incident happened at Bush International Airport in 2015, when Tigner reportedly asked if he could be issued a new boarding pass.

The UA employee, Alejandro Anastasia, is accused of laughing at the elderly man and swearing at him.

Mr Tigner's lawyer, William Hoke, told KPRC: "Anastasia was looking at Mr. Tigner and started smiling and said, 'Can't you see we're busy?' and there's no one in the vicinity of these two employees.

"And he tells Anastasia to wipe that smile off his face. That's when Anastasia says, 'I'll kick your...' and shoves Tigner to the ground."

Credit: PA

What's most shocking about the CCTV footage is that Mr Tigner is splayed out on the ground for some time, without anyone coming to his aid.

He says that despite the incident happening two years ago, he still suffers from concussion-like symptoms.

Anastasia was later fired and charged by police. As a result, he had to pay a fine, write an apology and go to anger management classes.

Credit: PA

United Airlines issued a statement about the 2015 incident, saying: "We are disturbed by the completely unacceptable behaviour shown in a video of a customer and a former United employee at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

"The actions shown here do not reflect our core values or our commitment to treat all of our customers with respect and dignity."

The airline says that it is taking a thorough look into the 2015 incident involved Mr Tigner and has issued a formal apology.

Featured Image Credit: KPRC

Topics: United Airlines

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie