Dana Finley Morrison, a Missouri fraternity and sorority worker, was on an American Airlines flight from St. Lucia to Miami on Saturday when she saw the pilot’s “Let's Go Brandon” sticker.
The slogan is an anti-Biden cry, and was coined in September when a Nascar reporter misheard “F*** Joe Biden” chants.
Morrison sent a tweet to American Airlines, writing: “Y'all cool with your pilots displaying this kind of cowardly rhetoric on their crew luggage when they're in uniform, about to board a plane? We are not the only passengers who noticed and were disgusted.”
The airline responded, writing: “Thank you for bringing this to our attention and we want to get this to the right team. Please DM any additional details.”
Morrison posted screenshots of her subsequent conversation with the airline, with one message reading: “We hold our team members to the highest standards and expectations.”
The airline’s policy states that staffers can only wear official, preapproved badges or pins, and pilots can only wear three pins at a time.
The airline has placed the pilot under investigation for his pin.
However, the airline’s sparked backlash online, with some insisting that the pilot should be allowed to express his views.
Some critics pointed out the airline’s hypocrisy, referring to the airline’s September 2020 decision to allow its staffers to wear Black Lives Matter pins.
At the time, the airline explained its decision with the statement: “American Airlines believes in equity and inclusion for all. light of the appropriate attention to lives of Black Americans, we will allow team members who wish to wear a Black Lives Matter pin to do so if they choose. We Believe Black Lives Matter. While American isn’t expressing support for specific organizations, we stand in solidarity with the movement for equality and justice for Black Americans who continue to experience racism and discrimination.”
Addressing the recent incident, one person commented: “The World is watching. If crew can openly wear BLM merch, hard to justify censoring this.”
Another person commented: “You guys have no problem with your employees sporting Democratic party, BLM, or rainbow regalia while they're on the job. Why should this be any different?”
One person wrote: “Will never fly American again if you discipline an employee for having a political opinion.”
“If he's not pushing the agenda on the passengers and not spewing stuff over the intercom she can mind her own business!” one commenter wrote. “This young man has done nothing wrong.”
The airline has not revealed the identity of the pilot in question, or whether he will be punishment for wearing the unapproved item.
The airline has yet to respond to requests for comment.