Delta Air Lines has apologized after an employee used the company’s social media account to say they would be “terrified” if they saw a Delta flight attendant wearing a Palestinian flag pin.
“Delta removed a mistakenly posted comment on X Wednesday because it was not in line with our values and our mission to connect the world,” a Delta spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The employee who made the comments will no longer be handling the social media pages, the spokesperson added.
“The team member responsible for the post has been counseled and no longer supports Delta’s social channels,” the spokesperson said. “We apologize for this error.”
The now-deleted comments were in response to a Tuesday post on X by user @iliketeslas. It included two photos showing flight attendants wearing Palestinian flag pins as they served passengers. The original post equated the Palestinian flag pin to a “Hamas badge,” Hamas being the militant group that governs Gaza and has been designated a terrorist organization.
Screenshots show Delta replied in a comment the next day: “I hear you and I’d be terrified as well, personally. Our employees reflect our culture and we do not take it lightly when our policy is not being followed.”
Another social media comment by Delta said that the company would investigate the pins being worn.
“Nothing to worry, this is being investigated already, particularly the involved parties,” it read.
Delta’s account later deleted the comments. The airline declined to specify where the pictures were taken, but the spokesperson said it was separate flights on different days.
The situation has led to many condemning the company online and some calling for a boycott of Delta, saying the comments were anti-Palestinian.
In a letter Thursday addressed to Delta CEO Ed Bastian, the steering committee for the Delta AFA union that represents flight attendants harshly criticized the company for the deleted comments.
“The (committee) underscores that these incidents reflect a repeated failure by Delta management to stand up for flight attendants,” the letter said.
The letter described the deleted posts as “bigoted and inflammatory” and said that the posts, “regardless of leadership approval, represent our airline to the world.” The union’s letter demanded a public apology from Delta, better social media moderation and a ban on non-consensual photography of crew members.
“These incidents underscore an urgent need for a social media moderation and feedback protocol that also ensures the safety and dignity of crew members,” the letter said.
The spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about policies regarding flight attendant pins, but the union letter says that for decades, pins have been accepted as a way to celebrate the diverse heritage of the flight’s crew.
Before the airline’s response, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nationwide civil rights and advocacy group, called on Delta to apologize for the deleted comments.
“Whether this racist post on Delta’s X account was approved or unauthorized, Delta must apologize and take steps to educate its employees about this type of dangerous anti-Palestinian racism,” CAIR said in a news release.
Following the apology, CAIR said in a news release that it “welcomed an apology from Delta Air Lines” for the now-deleted posts.