Passenger Claims She Was 'Permanently Banned' From American Airlines For Having An Inappropriate Relationship With A Man
She was shocked to find out that she'd been placed on the no-fly list for something that she knew she didn't do.
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A | Shutterstock A woman was shocked to learn that she'd been placed on American Airlines' "no-fly list" while attempting to travel to New Orleans for her sister's bachelorette party.
In a TikTok video, Erin Wright admitted that she was put through the wringer after showing up at the airport ready to go, only to be told that she wouldn't be allowed to fly for an absurd reason.
She was 'permanently banned' from American Airlines for having an inappropriate relationship with a man.
Wright explained that she'd arrived at the airport and was unable to check in for her flight. She'd attempted to do it on her phone and at the self-help kiosk before eventually going up to the customer service desk to ask for additional help.
It was there that the airline employee informed Wright that she was unable to check in for her flight because she had been effectively banned from the airline altogether.
"The [airline employee] looks nervous, and she’s like, 'Ma’am, I’m really sorry to tell you this, but you’ve actually been banned from flying American Airlines,'" Wright recalled. "I was, like, 'What? I’ve never done anything.'"
Begging the employee to explain, she informed Wright that it was an "issue with internal security," and that she would need to contact customer relations to learn the reason why.
Shocked, confused, and overwhelmed, Wright pointed out that this was all happening while she was at the airport, meaning she was most likely going to miss her original flight to New Orleans. Realizing she would need to email the representative to learn about her ban, Wright decided she would just rebook her flight since there was zero chance of her making it now.
"I quickly booked myself another $1,000 round trip day of to New Orleans," Wright said. "I’m going to get this cleared up, and they’ll refund me money."
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She spent the next eight hours in the airport, emailing customer relations and requesting a refund, which they claimed Wright couldn't get since she rebooked her flight while she was still banned.
Wright spent the 12 days waiting to hear back and effectively missed her sister's bachelorette party because of the inconvenience. Finally, after going around and around with customer relations and different representatives, Wright learned that she'd been banned for having "sexual relations with a man on a flight while intoxicated."
Wright pointed out that the accusation can't be true since she's a lesbian.
She emailed corporate security back and informed them that there was no way she was having an inappropriate relationship with a man on a flight, and they must've gotten her confused with someone else.
She pleaded with them to remove her from the no-fly list and refund the money she lost rebooking her flight since this entire debacle wasn't her fault in the slightest.
"I email them a very serious email, but also somewhat funny because in it, I'm like, I don't really know how to prove it isn't me except for the fact that I'm literally a lesbian, and I can get you letters from other people telling you that's the truth," Wright continued.
After sending that initial email, three whole months came and went without a solution or response from the airline's corporate security.
Thankfully, Wright's mother contacted American Airlines' law department, and she finally received a call from someone at the airline who explained that she'd been temporarily taken off the no-fly list until they figured out that it was either Wright or someone else. It's completely understandable that Wright would be incredibly frustrated by this entire ordeal, especially considering she wasn't able to learn how the airline came to that accusation in the first place.
The no-fly list was originally created for passengers who were a threat to national security, but in recent years, airlines have petitioned to have unruly passengers also placed on the FBI-monitored list. According to the FBI, to be placed on the no-fly list, “there must be credible information demonstrating that the individual presents a threat of committing an act of terrorism with respect to an aircraft, the homeland, U.S. facilities or interests abroad, or is a threat of engaging in or conducting a violent act of terrorism and is operationally capable of doing so.”
Being placed on the no-fly list is an extremely serious matter, and in Wright's case, it was completely misplaced and frankly undeserving. In Wright's case, that "credible information" was clearly not credible at all.
There was also a lack of communication and empathy from the airline employees for inconveniencing the last three months of Wright's life, especially when they realized that it wasn't her who they initially suspected.
She was encouraged by viewers to look into other options to compensate for the entire experience, including reaching out to the Department of Transportation to file a complaint or suing them in small claims court.
Luckily, thanks to TikTok's creator fund, Wright was able to recoup the $1,000 she failed to get refunded through American Airlines when she rebooked her flight, but it's clear that the airline still has a duty to reach out and sincerely apologize to Wright because it's unfair that she was put through such an intense and uncomfortable ordeal in the first place.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.