United Airlines Employee Charged For Yelling Racial Slur At Customer In Houston Airport

An employee for United Airlines was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct after shouting racial slurs at a customer.

The incident occurred in February at the United terminal at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Cacilie Hughes had returned to Houston from Michigan and was waiting for the luggage to be offloaded. She then went to ask United employee Carmella Davano a question and was met with racial slurs from Davano.

Davano reportedly began calling Hughes a “monkey” and yelled at Hughes after asking her question. Hughes tried to ask for another employee to intervene, but when no one did, she decided to call the police.

Houston Police Department officers arrived at the airport not long after the incident and looked into what happened. After having the incident confirmed by two witnesses, police issued a citation to Davano for profane and abusive language in a public place.

United Airlines issued a statement not long after the incident: "We have withheld the employee from service since the night of the incident pending an internal investigation. Upon conclusion of the investigation, we will take any and all appropriate corrective action up to and including termination."

Hughes and her lawyers will also be fighting United Airlines for what they refer to as a pattern of racial discrimination by the airline.