The National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP) has lifted the travel advisory it issued for American Airlines
last October.
"We have worked with American Airlines for nearly a
year, and they have taken substantive action to begin to address implicit bias,"
NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson said in prepared remarks. "They have embraced
the situation and we are encouraged by their commitment to improve upon their
internal processes and increase inclusion across their airline."
Last December, in response to the advisory, American adopted
a four-prong plan to improve diversity and inclusiveness. Among its components
are implicit bias training for its 130,000 employees and the creation of a
complaint-resolution team specializing in customers' discrimination complaints.
In issuing the advisory last fall, the NAACP highlighted
four incidents involving black passengers, three of whom were removed from
flights. In one incident, the removal came after the passenger responded to
discriminatory behavior from two white passengers, the NAACP said.
Tuesday, American CEO Doug Parker thanked the NAACP for
recognizing the carrier's progress.
"Today's news belongs to American's 130,000 team
members who have enthusiastically embraced our goal to lead all industry in
diversity, inclusion and equality. This is work that will never be complete,
but we are making great progress," Parker said in a prepared statement.