United to reinstate 13 flight attendants fired for walking off

United Airlines has agreed to reinstate 13 flight attendants who were fired for refusing to work a flight from San Francisco International Airport to Hong Kong in July 2014 because of “menacing” graffiti they perceived as a security threat. “The protections that federal law provides to airline workers are essential to the safety of passenger airline operations,” he said. Someone had scrawled “BYE BYE” in six-inch letters above two faces, “one smiling and the other with a more troubling expression that could be described as frowning or devilish,” the complaint said. The image was near the access panel to a gas turbine engine housed in the tail cone that was about 30 feet off the ground, an area accessible only by authorized personnel using specialized equipment, the complaint said. Maintenance inspectors finished searching the engine compartment and found nothing suspicious, but did not investigate other portions of the plane, the complaint said. United’s SFO inflight supervisor, Virginia Coronado, urged the flight attendants to trust the captain’s decision, but some attendants wanted a complete security sweep to ensure the plane’s safety. The Federal Aviation Administration requires airlines to deplane passengers and conduct such a search “in the face of a specific and credible threat to the security of the flight,” the complaint says. Sometime after 3:30 p.m., a United customer service agent came aboard and announced that the flight was canceled because of “crew availability,” the complaint says. “All of FAA’s and United’s own safety procedures were followed, including a comprehensive safety sweep prior to boarding, and the pilots, mechanics and safety leaders deemed the aircraft entirely safe to fly,” United said in an email last year.