A passenger flying with American Airlines says he was greeted by police upon arrival in Los Angeles after a flight attendant expressed worries about the safety of his children and questioned their relation to him, per Insider.
David Ryan Harris, who is Black, traveled from Atlanta to Los Angeles on September 15 with his two multiracial children. According to Harris, the flight attendant grew suspicious when his 7-year-old son, who he described as
“rather reserved,”
did not respond when she attempted to initiate a conversation and ask for his name.
“Upon our arrival in Los Angeles, we were met at the top of the jetway by an AA employee and four police officers,”
Harris said in an Instagram video documenting the incident.
“Apparently, a flight attendant had called ahead with some sort of concern that perhaps my mixed children weren’t my children because they were unresponsive.”
“I wanted to go through the roof,”
he said, adding that he didn’t want to lose his temper in front of his kids. The police later interviewed his children and concluded that they were indeed his own, according to Harris. However, he mentioned that the American Airlines staff member did not offer any kind of compensation for the distressing encounter.
Harris suggested that if the flight attendant had concerns about the children’s relationship with him, she could have easily checked their shared last name or their linked Frequent Flyer accounts.
“There were many steps that she could have taken before she lobbed the hand grenade of having the authorities called,”
Harris said in a video. He described it as
“completely poor form”
on the part of the airline.
An American Airlines representative later reached out to Harris after seeing his story on X, formally known as Twitter. He was offered 10,000 air miles, which he took but described as
“kinda insulting”
in a video.
“We strive to create a positive, welcoming environment for everyone who travels with us and apologize for any misunderstanding that may have occurred,”
an American Airlines spokesperson told Insider. It is unclear what repercussions were held against the flight attendant who reported Harris.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
