PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The head of American Airlines is promising to rebuild trust and do better against racial discrimination after three Black men sued the airline, claiming they were removed from a Phoenix flight because of their skin color.

According to CBS News, CEO Robert Isom said in a letter sent to airline employees that the incident was “unacceptable.”

“I am incredibly disappointed by what happened on that flight and the breakdown of our procedures,” Isom wrote. “We fell short of our commitments and failed our customers in this incident.”

He also outlined a plan to address discrimination after speaking with civil rights groups.

The employees involved in removing the Black men are reportedly on administrative leave.

Back in January, eight Black men were reportedly told to leave the plane waiting to take off in Phoenix and were heading to New York.

The men said airline employees told them they were removed because of a complaint about body odor, which they said was false.

Three of the men filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York last month, claiming racial discrimination.

The lawsuit said the eight men were the only Black people on the flight.

The group also wasn’t traveling together and didn’t know each other.

The complaint said flight attendants did not mention an offensive odor on an earlier flight the three plaintiffs took from Los Angeles to Phoenix.

American offered to rebook them, but when it became clear after about an hour that there were no other available flights to New York that evening, they were allowed to reboard the plane, according to the lawsuit

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