The men, Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal, claim that the issue was not actually about body odour but rather racial discrimination, as all the black passengers on the flight were removed.

According to BBC reports, the men did not know each other and were not seated together on the 5 January flight from Phoenix, Arizona, to New York. They realized that every black man was asked to leave the flight. Earlier that day, each had flown from Los Angeles without any problems.

The lawsuit, filed by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, states that the men had already taken their seats and were preparing for departure when a flight attendant approached each of them, requesting them to exit the plane.

While the men waited outside, the pilot announced a delay due to an issue with "body odor," which the plaintiffs say was a false claim. The lawsuit describes the profound embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, anger, and distress experienced by the men throughout the ordeal.

"Throughout the flight – from the moment of their reboarding, in each interaction with the white male flight attendant, and continuing until landing – Plaintiffs experienced profound feelings of embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, anger, and distress," the lawsuit states.

The act of returning to their seats after the unwarranted delay, navigating past predominantly white passengers who eyed them with anger and suspicion, compounded their humiliation.

The lawsuit demands that American Airlines pay unspecified damages for the trauma endured by the men. At the flight gate, the three men, along with five others, were informed by an airline agent that they had been removed because a white male flight attendant had complained about an unidentified passenger's body odor.