Airline Defends Dragging Passenger From Plane

Shocking footage shows an airline passenger being forcibly removed from Romanian airline Tarom.

The incident took place before takeoff on a flight from Bucharest to Cairo. A couple seated in emergency exit rows refused to leave the aircraft.

Reports in the Independent suggest that there was a series of events that led to the husband being forcibly removed, starting with the refusal to remove bags stowed under their exit row seats and that the wife was not able to speak Romanian or English, which is another requirement for exit row seating.

The man refused to leave the aircraft after being asked and the woman was accused of spitting on a flight attendant.

Passenger Viorica Hagagg, who was onboard the plane, captured the dragging incident and posted the footage to Facebook.

The airline defends its actions and says it acted in this manner to adhere to European regulations, but also says that it regrets the incident.

In a statement, Tarom said that it couldn’t allow a passenger to “endanger the safety and security of other passengers.”