'Like Sardines': American Airlines Passenger Says She Felt Unsafe on Busy Flight

American Airlines has drawn criticism from a passenger who said she “never felt so unsafe” on board a flight from Fresno to Dallas on May 17.

Passenger Tammy Gonzalez posted footage from flight AA1154 to Twitter, showing a busy flight she calls “so overcrowded”. Most passengers are seen wearing masks.

“All rows with the exception of maybe 4 rows were completely full of passengers,” Gonzalez wrote on Twitter.

She told Storyful she felt “extremely unsafe”.

“Just outside the plane inside the airport we are required to practice social distancing and keep six feet between each other at all times,” she said. “But on board we were packed in like sardines.”

In response, American Airlines said on Twitter: “We’re working hard to create more space by limiting the number of customers on each flight.”

In a statement issued to Storyful, the airline said 28 seats on the flight were not occupied as part of distancing measures and “the aircraft was not at max capacity.”

“On flights through May 31, American will limit the number of passengers on each aircraft,” they said.

“As part of this limit, American will not assign 50 percent of main cabin middle seats or seats near flight attendant jump seats on every flight, and will only use those middle seats when necessary. Gate agents will also continue to reassign seats to create more space between customers or to accommodate families who need to be seated together,” the company said. Credit: Tammy Gonzalez via Storyful