Erin Wright claimed American Airlines informed her she was banned for 'having sexual relations with a man on a flight while intoxicated,' which came as a great surprise as she is a lesbian.
Erin Wright claimed American Airlines informed her she was banned for 'having sexual relations with a man on a flight while intoxicated,' which came as a great surprise as she is a lesbian.
A woman who claimed she was prevented from boarding a flight has revealed the unexpected reason she was blacklisted and banned from flying with American Airlines.
American Erin Wright took to social media explaining she had purchased a US$400 ($658) American Airlines return ticket from New Mexico to New Orleans so she could attend her sister’s hen party.
However, she claimed when staff struggled to check her in, they investigated and soon discovered the airline had banned her and put her name on the “no-fly list”.
Confused, the 24-year-old thought it was a mistake and asked why she was banned.
Wright went back and forth with the gate agent, who said “I’m really sorry, it’s an issue of internal security. I can’t tell you but the person on the phone told me that you should know why”.
“I am a 24-year-old lesbian. You see me. Am I having sexual relations with any man? No,” Wright said in the clip.
Erin Wright, 24, said she was put on an American Airlines no-fly list for having sex with a man, despite being a lesbian.
The ban meant she had to cough up more than US$1000 on another flight on a different airline just so she could get to her sister’s hen party on time.
“I’m really frustrated and have to spend another eight hours in the airport waiting for my other flight,” she said.
Even after attending her sister’s hen party, it took 12 days and many emails before American Airlines gave her an official answer confirming why she was banned.
“I finally get an email from corporate security saying that I have been banned because I was having sexual relations with a man on a flight while intoxicated.
“I email them a very serious email, but also somewhat funny, because in it I am like “I don’t really know how to prove it wasn’t me except for the fact that I am, literally, a lesbian.
“I can like get you letters from other people telling you that that’s the truth.”
Despite this, she remained on the no-fly list for three months until her mother contacted the airline’s legal department.
She was finally taken off the list and refunded US$400 for the original flight.
In a follow-up video, Wright said it has been a “super-upsetting experience” and claimed she wasn’t compensated for the extra flight she had to book “because of their error”.
