A passenger in the United States who attempted to board a flight to her sister’s bachelorette party was informed that she would be banned from flying with 
American Airlines and were forced to rebook an expensive alternative flight due to an obvious error on the part of the airline.
How did that happen?
On TikTok, 24-year-old Erin Wright shared that when she tried to check in for a June flight from New Mexico to New Orleans, she was unable to do so through the mobile app. When she arrived at the airport an hour and a half before departure, the check-in kiosk failed again and she contacted customer service.
Wright noted that the staff was very helpful in resolving her issue, but also had issues checking in. At that point, the staff reassured her that there may have been an error with her name and date of birth when she purchased the ticket and called to escalate the issue. According to Wright, the staff member returned after about 10 minutes and told her:
“Ma’am, I’m really sorry to tell you this, but you have actually been banned from flying on American Airlines.”
When asked for further details about the reason for the ban, the agent could only confirm that it was an internal security issue and that she could not provide any further details except that “The person on the phone told me you should know why” and contact customer service.
Related
What are no-fly lists and how do they work?
The U.S. federal government and airlines use “no-fly lists” to prohibit certain people from flying for safety reasons.
When Wright reached the customer service hotline, she was again told that it was an internal security and confidentiality issue and that they could not tell her the reason for her suspension. She was then instructed to contact customer care, which was only available via email, to resolve the situation.
Photo: Albuquerque International Sunport
Since it was now time, Wright had to book a same-day round-trip flight with another airline, costing her $1,000 out of pocket while she waited for a response. After waiting 8 hours for the next flight, she made it safely to her sister’s bachelorette party and decided to stop by when she returned.
The continuation of the saga
Twelve days and “many emails” Wright later received an email from customer service saying they could not tell her what had happened and would need to contact corporate security to contact Wright with more information. When corporate security contacted her, she was told she had been banned from flying because she had engaged in sexual relations with a man while intoxicated during a flight.
As a lesbian, Wright was understandably confused by this information and demanded a refund and to be removed from the no-fly list. According to Wright, corporate security responded that she needed to email them a formal complaint and explain exactly why she hadn’t done so. To this, she responded half-seriously, noting:
“I sent them a very serious but also kind of funny email because I said, ‘I don’t really know how to prove it wasn’t me, other than the fact that I am literally a lesbian and I can get you letters from other people telling you that’s the truth.'”
After waiting three months for a response, Wright’s mother contacted American Airlines’ legal department for further assistance. Two days later, she received a call telling her that the airline had reviewed her case and determined that she most likely was not the one. They would remove her from the no-fly list until further notice while the airline determined whether she or someone else was in fact the one.
Wright confirmed that the airline refunded her the original $400 fare but refused to cover the cost of the second flight and she was forced to book due to the error. Luckily for Wright, the first TikTok earned enough money to pay for the flight, but she isn’t ruling out legal action against the airline. Simple Flying has reached out to the airline for more information but has not received a response as of press time.
