The public who use airlines wants unruly passengers to be banned from flying, but what happens when the wrong person is kept off a plane? Erin Wright spoke on TikTok last week about how American Airlines kept her off a June flight from New Mexico to New Orleans. The airline informed her that she was on the airline’s no-fly list for having sexual relations with a man while under the influence of alcohol during a flight. Wright was adamant that American Airlines had made a mistake. Why? She explained, “I’m a 24-year-old lesbian.”
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Wright was on her way to the Big Easy for her sister’s bachelorette party, but noticed something was wrong when checking in. The app, self-service kiosk and help desk were all locked, and Wright became increasingly worried that she would miss her flight. When she learned she needed to contact customer care via email, Wright booked another $1,000 round-trip ticket in addition to her original $400 flight.
The bureaucratic process dragged on, and American Airlines’ corporate security was called in. Wright finally found out why she had been banned 12 days later. After her case was reviewed, she was removed from the airline’s no-fly list and American reimbursed her $400 for the missed flight. The airline, however, would not tell Wright why she had been put on the list in the first place.
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Wight was allowed to fly on American Airlines again, but still had to pay $1,000 for the replacement flight. In an update, she said the video generated enough revenue for TikTok to pay out $1,008. The video has been viewed over 2.5 million times on the social media platform. There’s a silver lining to every cloud. She’s also considering filing a complaint with USDOT or suing American in small claims court.
The Department of Transport has taken massive action in recent years to force airlines to serve their customers better. The most recent measure required airlines to automatically issue refunds for cancelled and severely delayed flights. Hopefully Wright will get some compensation for what she went through.
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