Delta airlines defended a flight attendant accused of racial discrimination during an in-flight medical emergency.
Dr. Tamika Cross, an OBGYN resident, accused a flight attendant of discrimination because the attendant refused to believe Cross was a doctor.
Cross, 28, is the chief resident at Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in Houston, Texas — which means she is still in training.
In her Facebook post, Cross explained that a crew member called for a physician when a male passenger lost consciousness during a flight to Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Cross said she volunteered to help, but the flight attended told her she needed a “real” physician.
“She said to me, ‘Oh no, sweetie, put your hand down, we are looking for actual physicians or nurses or some type of medical personnel, We don’t have time to talk to you,” Cross wrote.
Cross said the flight attendant began “bombarding me with questions” when she told her that she was a doctor. But Cross did not produce any credentials to prove she had a medical background.
Eventually, a white male stepped forward and announced he was a doctor.
“She says to me, ‘Thanks for your help, but he can help us, and he has his credentials,” Cross wrote. “(Mind you he hasn’t shown anything to her. Just showed up and fit the ‘description of a doctor’) I stay seated. Mind blown. Blood boiling.”
Later, the flight attendant apologized to Cross for the misunderstanding and offered her SkyMiles.
“I kindly refused,” Cross said. “This is going higher than her. I don’t want SkyMiles in exchange for blatant discrimination.”
A message posted on the Delta website, stated that three passengers identified themselves as doctors but only one “was able to produce documentation of medical training.”
Delta stated the flight attendant followed proper protocol by requesting documentation.
Some Facebook users accused Cross of being an angry black woman with a superiority complex who made the in-flight emergency all about her.
