MIAMI - Haiti’s Consul General in Miami Ralph Latortue has taken American Airlines (AA) to task for what he described as a pattern of ill-treatment meted out to Haitians on board the airline.

The Haitian official has written AA expressing his outrage, following an incident over the weekend in which a top Haitian government official was allegedly mistreated by a flight attendant on a flight from Port-au-Prince to Miami.

Latortue accused the airline of exhibiting “an ongoing pattern of disrespect” to Haitian customers, according to a letter dispatched as an official complaint to the carrier.

The consul general accused the attendant of “rudely” insisting that the nephew of Elisabeth Delatour, an advisor to Haitian President René Préval, sit in economy class on Flight 816 so an off-duty flight attendant could sit in business class. Delatour was travelling on the same flight with two minors, her son and nephew.

“There is no logical explanation why an employee of American Airlines should verbally aggress a passenger and literally push a child out of his seat in order to replace him by an off-duty employee,” Latortue wrote.

He said that even after an AA counter agent confirmed that the seat was assigned to the nephew, the flight attendant “was relentless in her verbal attack against Mrs. Delatour, a full [fare] paying and gold customer”.

Latortue said the incident was not isolated, citing complaints his office has received from Haitian passengers.

“This is another outrageous example of the lack of compassion and respect toward Haitians,” he wrote, adding that passengers of other nationalities are not treated in this manner.

However, AA spokesperson Martha Pantin said the airline was “very committed to the Haitian market”, adding that it “has a long-standing commitment with the Haitian community both in the US and in Haiti.

“Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding…regarding an upgrade,” she said. “Our Country Director in Haiti has spoken to Ms. Delatour personally and has apologized.”

“Currently, we are investigating this incident and, based on our investigation we will determine what further action should be taken,” Pantin continued.

The United States Federal Aviation Administration said through spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen, that it will also review the matter.

Last month, the Haitian community in the US was up in arms when 46-year-old Haitian nurse Carine Desir-Fontus died on an AA flight from Port-au-Prince to New York.

Her relatives charged that faulty medical equipment on board the airline contributed to her death and that flight attendants twice refused to provide oxygen, even though Desir-Fontus complained that she could not breathe.