Woman says she got banned from American Airlines for having ‘relations’ with man

Photo by@erin_wright_/TikTok Angel DiBilio/ShutterStock Vladimir Sukhachev/ShutterStock

"I’m going to miss my flight". This woman got banned from flying with American Airlines for something she didn’t (and would never) do. Here’s why.

“If you’re ever wondering how you can get permanently banned from American Airlines, this is how it happened to me,” Erin Wright (@erin_wright_) starts. Her video now has more than 2.4 million views.

Wright says that in June, she was traveling to her sister's bachelorette celebration in New Orleans. When she attempted to check in for her flight using her phone and then at the airport self-service station, she reported that the system was malfunctioning.

Feeling concerned, Wright mentions that she decided to reach out to an agent for assistance. She remembers the agent facing difficulties accessing her information. The agent, Wright explains, suggested it might be a technical glitch, possibly due to an incorrect date of birth. Consequently, the agent had to make a call to investigate the problem, which left Wright in a state of panic. Wright was concerned about potentially missing her flight.

And the agent’s reaction didn’t help.

After hanging up, Wright notes that the agent appeared anxious. The agent, according to Wright, told her that she was no longer allowed to fly with American Airlines.

“‘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,’” Wright recalls the agent saying.

The reason for the ban

Wright mentions that she dialed customer support as directed, hoping to resolve the problem quickly. However, she notes that they were unable to assist her and directed her to contact customer relations, a different division. The issue was that, she explains, the customer relations team could only be contacted through email.

“I’m realizing that I’m going to miss my flight, and I just need to book another flight,” Wright says.

“So I quickly booked myself another $1,000 round-trip flight day,” Wright says, expecting American to reimburse her for the issue.

Wright had to wait an additional eight hours for her new flight. During this period, while sobbing on the phone with her mother, she attempted to contact customer relations to inquire about the reason for her ban. She also asked for a refund for the flight she missed and extra charges.

She mentions that customer service eventually responded. However, she states that they were unable to explain the reason for her ban and had to refer her to corporate security.

“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,” Wright recalls.

The kicker

“I am a 24-year-old lesbian. You see me. Am I having sexual relations with any man? No,” Wright tells viewers.

Wright mentions it took a total of 12 days to arrive at this stage. However, she was then informed that she had to undergo a formal appeal procedure. Two months had passed, and she claims to have received no updates. At this juncture, Wright's mother intervened, contacting the law department of American Airlines, which expedited the process and resolved her case within two days.

The security team, Wright reports, informed her that she was no longer on the list. She was only compensated for $400 of the $1,000 she had to pay for the canceled flight. Additionally, she was not reimbursed for the $1,000 she had to spend, despite it being the airline's mistake.

Wright asks people to blow up the video so she could at least earn money on TikTok from the views. Well, TikTok did as TikTok does and got her hundreds of thousands of views, resulting in about $1,008 in earnings. That’s almost exactly how much Wright paid for the replacement flight, she shares.

“I’m just really grateful for all your help and for blowing that video up because it took a lot of stress off of me financially,” Wright says.

In a follow-up video, Wright says, “It was a super upsetting experience. And American Airlines didn’t compensate me for the inconvenience or the extra flight that I had to book because of their error.”

She mentions that she's still optimistic that American Airlines will fix the issue and has contacted them about it. However, she mentions that she might consider the advice of commenters to submit a complaint to the Department of Transportation or to pursue legal action against American in a small claims court.

The 2 types of no-fly lists

If you're looking to avoid any future travel mishaps, there are two main categories of no-fly lists: those operated by individual airlines and the official government-run list.

Individual airlines can choose to refuse service to a passenger for various reasons, often stemming from disruptive behavior during a flight. This could range from excessive alcohol consumption, attempting to harm a flight crew member, or even trying to board a plane under the influence. However, being placed on one airline's list doesn't automatically guarantee you'll be banned from all airlines.

The only way to get universally banned from multiple airlines is to make it onto the official no-fly list. This list is managed by the FBI and prohibits a person from boarding an aircraft “flying within, to, from, and over the United States,” according to the TSA website. Getting on the federal no-fly list is not quite that simple. As of right now, that list is only made up of people involved in or suspected of involvement in terrorism or related activities.