_Offload_ is used in the cases you mention to distinguish the action taken from the more commonly used _disembark_. _Disembark_ is the normal word used for people getting off a conveyance (originally ships, but extended to airplanes, trains, buses etc.) but using _disembark_ is a little bit ambiguous. >Jane Doe was disembarked from the 9am flight this morning > >Jane Doe was offloaded from the 9am flight this morning They both mean the same thing, but as it's normal for people to be _disembarked_ in a non-forceful way, using _offloaded_ for a passenger makes it clearer that the _disembarkation_ was against her will rather than the normal procedure. OED does mention that _off-load_ has been used for people. >**off-load** v. orig. S. Africa (after Du[tch] *afladen*) >*trans*. To unload. Also *transf.* and *fig*., to discard, get rid of, relieve oneself of (a person or thing). Hence off-ˈloading *vbl. n.* and *ppl. a.* > >**1952** C. Day Lewis tr. *Virgil's Aeneid* v. 113 They enrolled the women for the colony, off-loaded the men who wanted To stay there. Also compare the definitions from The Free Dictionary and note defn.3 for _offload_. >**Disembark** >v. dis·em·barked, dis·em·bark·ing, dis·em·barks >v.intr. >1. To go ashore from a ship. >2. To leave a vehicle or aircraft. >v.tr. >To take ashore from a ship. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/disembark >**Offload** >v. off·load·ed, off·load·ing, off·loads >v.tr. >1. To unload (a vehicle or container). >2. Computers To transfer (data) to a peripheral device. >3. Informal To get rid of and pass on to another >v.intr. >To unload a vehicle or container. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/offload