Southwest Airlines came under fire once again for making fun of a young girl’s name. The airline has apologized after a mother claimed its staff mocked her five-year-old daughter, called Abcde, over her name. A gate agent laughed at the name — pronounced ‘Ab-si-dee’ — and posted a picture of her boarding pass online, the girl’s mother, Traci Redford, alleged.
Redford said the incident occurred several weeks ago when she and her daughter were preparing to board a flight from Santa Ana, Calif., home to El Paso, Tex. Redford claimed that a gate agent at California’s John Wayne Airport saw Abcde’s name and started pointing, laughing and talking to other employees about Redford and her child.
“The gate agent started laughing, pointing at me and my daughter, talking to other employees. So I turned around and said, ‘Hey, if I can hear you, my daughter can hear you, so I’d appreciate if you’d just stop,'” Redford told ABC News.
Redford also added: “While I was sitting there, she took a picture of my boarding pass and chose to post it on social media, mocking my daughter. It was actually brought to my attention by somebody who had seen it on Facebook and reported it to Southwest Airlines. And after two weeks of doing a formal complaint, Southwest hadn’t done anything.”
In a statement to CNN, a spokesman for the airline offered a “sincere apology to the family.”
“We take great pride in extending our Southwest Hospitality to all of our Customers, which includes living by the Golden Rule and treating every individual with respect, in person or online,” the spokesman said. “We have followed up with the Employee involved, and while we do not disclose personnel actions publicly, we are using this as an opportunity to reinforce our policies and emphasize our expectations for all Employees.”
By: Maytinee Kramer
