Airline Under Fire For DEI Policies After Nearly-Tragic Crash Landing In Toronto

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A regional airline operating the Delta Air Lines flight that flipped upside down upon landing on Monday is being criticized for aggressively promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion policies that critics allege may have contributed to the near-fatal incident.

Air travel was brought to a standstill over Toronto on Monday after Delta Flight 4819 capsized while attempting to land at Pearson International Airport, where wind gusts were reported to be as high as 65 mph. Video of the harrowing incident shows flames bursting from the bottom of the jet before a wing breaks off, and the intact cabin rolls onto its roof.

Days later, some of the most influential conservative accounts on X have resurfaced old social media posts by Endeavor Air, which operated the flight on behalf of Delta, including one promoting an all-female crew with a poor choice of words.

“Buckle up ladies and gentlemen, your flight is unmanned today. #girlpower” read a 2022 post on the platform which was flagged by End Wokeness. One user noted that a male member of the flight crew was heard on its transmission during landing.

But in a section of Endeavor’s website titled “our most important behaviors,” the company promises to “promote diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the airline and our operation.” Ironically, listed above their DEI promise is another stating Endeavor is committed to “put[ting] safety first–always.”

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The revelation comes roughly six months after Delta was criticized for instructing boarding crew to refrain from using the phrase “ladies and gentlemen,” a change recommended by DEI & Social Impact Officer Kyra Lynn Johnson. Delta’s website and Johnson’s LinkedIn profile both indicate she still holds her position and job title.

“Use gender-neutral language and pronouns. Do not use language that suggests a gender binary (male-female),” read a Delta guide approved by Johnson that was distributed across the company in December of 2020.

Johnson became a prominent spokesperson for Delta Air Lines following the 2020 death of George Floyd when, during a panel on diversity, she pledged to ensure Delta would adopt “antiracist” policies in the workplace, including a diversification of its airline staff.

“To really come out and say, as an organization, that we are an antiracist company was really important to us,” she said at the time. “We are going to actively seek diversity. We’re also talking about how we’re going to boldly pursue equity. And we’re talking about the steps we’re taking to consciously promote inclusion. So, we realize, like many of you have, that it’s not enough just to say, ‘We aren’t racist,’ but to say that you are antiracist.”

Earlier this month, a Delta flight collided with a Japan Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner while the two jets were taxiing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. A spokesperson for the company confirmed no injuries were reported, but that came as little comfort to passengers on board.

“So, we were sitting on the tarmac at SeaTac and another plane ran into us, just casually sliced into our tail,” one passenger wrote on X. “Very scary.”



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