It confirmed the leadership transition and explained that Elena Ruiz had been appointed interim CEO.
The announcement referenced the board's review of management practices and the need to strengthen accountability and reporting systems.
It didn't claim that Adrian had personally ordered the food incident.
It didn't announce guilt before the investigation was complete.
And it didn't portray Maya's experience as the sole reason for the decision.
But reporters immediately connected the announcement to the viral video from Flight 418.
Several headlines described a Black woman humiliated in first class who turned out to chair the airline's board.
Others focused on the timing of the CEO's removal.
Social-media users celebrated what they saw as an extraordinary reversal of power.
Some demanded that Jessica and Mike be fired instantly.
Others praised Maya for remaining calm.
But the public discussion also revealed an uncomfortable problem.
Many people seemed more outraged because Maya turned out to be wealthy and powerful than they would have been if she were an ordinary passenger.
That bothered her.
For years, she'd argued that premium service and basic dignity were different things.
Passengers could pay for extra space, better meals, and additional amenities.
But they shouldn't need wealth or corporate authority to receive respectful treatment.
Now she was watching strangers celebrate the fact that a flight attendant had accidentally humiliated someone with enough influence to threaten the airline's leadership.
Maya understood the irony.
But she didn't want the lesson reduced to a warning that employees should be careful because any passenger might secretly be their boss.
The real lesson was simpler.
Every passenger was a person.
That should have been enough.
Jessica learned about Adrian's departure from a news alert on her phone.
She was sitting in a small employee interview room at the airport.
Her uniform jacket lay across the back of a chair, and the tight bun she'd worn that morning was beginning to loosen.
She read the headline twice.
Then looked toward Mike.
"Is this because of that woman?"
Mike didn't answer immediately.
He was staring at the screen of his own phone.
The video of the food incident had spread across the country.
Several passengers had already provided statements.
And the company had suspended the crew members directly involved from flight duties pending further review.
For the first time, Jessica seemed frightened by the consequences of her actions.
But fear didn't immediately become remorse.
She still believed Maya had provoked her.
She still described the meal as an accidental spill.
And she insisted that the confrontation became serious only because the passenger refused to cooperate.
Mike wanted to believe her.
He'd defended Jessica before.
He'd submitted reports supporting her version of previous incidents.