American Airlines Passengers Disembark Crowded Flight at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport

An American Airlines passenger called on the airline to implement safer social distancing guidelines after a busy flight from Miami to Chicago where passengers all crowded together to exit the plane on May 20.

Shelley Beets shared a video from flight AA145 on Twitter, showing passengers crowding the plane’s walkway while waiting to disembark. She alleged there were some rows with a passenger on every seat and “no social distancing while boarding” the plane. Beets did note the middle seat next to her was empty.

“My frustration is with the deplaning. American Airlines needs to come up with a strategy to deplane, as soon as that seatbelt light goes off, everybody stands up and converges in the aisle,” said Beets.

American Airlines said on Twitter: “We’re working hard to create more space by limiting the number of customers on each flight.”

In a statement issued to Storyful, the airline said 47 seats on the flight were not occupied.

“On flights through May 31, American will limit the number of passengers on each aircraft,” they said.

“As part of this limit, American will not assign 50 percent of main cabin middle seats or seats near flight attendant jump seats on every flight, and will only use those middle seats when necessary. Gate agents will also continue to reassign seats to create more space between customers or to accommodate families who need to be seated together. Once onboard — as long as there aren’t any aircraft weight or balance restrictions — customers can move to another seat within their ticketed cabin subject to availability,” the company said. Credit: Shelley Beets via Storyful