Social media users turned against Uber after the company decided to lift their surge pricing during a protest at New York’s John F Kennedy airport against Trump’s travel ban.
There was plenty to be angry about this weekend – and many people were extremely irate about the ride-hailing company Uber.
READ MORE: Tens of thousands in US cities protest Trump immigration order
As news of Donald Trump’s travel ban on Muslim-majority countries spread, protests sprang up at airports around the US. In support, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance called on its members to avoid John F Kennedy International Airport for one hour:
#DeleteUber trend on Twitter following a Tweet from one of Uber’s account. Uber had tweeted that. ‘Surge pricing has been turned off at #JFK Airport. This may result in longer wait times. Please be patient’.
The tweet provoked the #DeleteUber trend with people sharing photos of the “delete” screen on their phone and likening Uber’s move to crossing the picket lines.
Despite the fact that the announcement to remove surge pricing came at 7:36pm (Eastern time), after the end of the scheduled taxi strike, many people started deleting the Uber app from their smartphone suggesting that the company was trying to break up the strike or trying to profit off Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’.
READ MORE: 18 companies, celebrities who are against Trump’s Muslim travel ban
The CEO of Uber Travis Kalanick who is an adviser on Trump’s economic council has apologised saying Trump’s travel ban from seven Muslim-majority countries “is against everything Uber stands for.” He said the ban affects thousands of Uber drivers and further explains that Uber will compensate drivers for lost earnings if they’re unable to work because of the ban. Uber also set up a $3 million legal defence fund for the “wrong and unjust” ban.
Lastly, Kalanick said he would pressure the president to “stand up for what’s right.”
Uber has since issued a statement to apologise for saying:
“We’re sorry for any confusion about our earlier tweet it was not meant to break up any strike, we wanted people to know they could use Uber to get to and from JFK at normal prices, especially tonight” the statement read.
