Courtesy Mary MacCarthy
A California woman wants Southwest Airlines to be held accountable after one of their employees suspected her of trafficking her biracial daughter.
A California woman is accusing Southwest Airlines of racial profiling, saying she was accused of human trafficking while traveling with her biracial daughter.
Mary MacCarthy of Los Angeles told CNN she and her 10-year-old daughter, Moira, were flying to Denver on Oct. 22 after receiving news that MacCarthy’s brother had suddenly died.
MacCarthy said they had a brief stop in San Jose and boarded another Southwest flight but realized then that they couldn’t be seated together.
“I asked flight attendants if we could be seated together but they told us we’d each have to take a middle seat,” MacCarthy said. “So with their permission I asked other passengers if they would kindly move so we could be together, especially as my daughter was grieving, and they did. People are nice.”
When they arrived in Denver, MacCarthy said, she and her daughter were met on the jetway by two Denver police officers.
“I got quite a shock; having lost my brother the night before, I thought that someone else in my family had died and that police had been sent to deliver the news!” MacCarthy wrote in an email to Southwest Airlines’ media team, which was included in the police report.
“As for my daughter, she was terribly frightened: she was already experiencing the trauma of her uncle’s death, and she is scared of police due to constant headlines about how police treat Black people (she is Black). She began to sob and was inconsolable,” her email said.
The officers assured her nothing was wrong but said they wanted to question her and her daughter, MacCarthy said.
“They said they were here because my daughter and I were reported for suspicious behavior, acting suspiciously before boarding and while boarding,” she said.
“I took out my phone and immediately started recording. I told (the officer) who we were and that my daughter was crying because she had lost a family member,” MacCarthy said.
According to a report from the Denver police, “Both Mother and child were cleared.”
The report also noted that officers were responding to a “possible Human Trafficking reported by South West flight attendant” — but MacCarthy says she only found out two weeks later that she was suspected of human trafficking.
“I got a call from Denver Police human trafficking unit letting me know they were following up on the incident,” she told CNN.
CNN reached out to the Denver Police Department on Sunday afternoon about MacCarthy’s claim but has not received a response.
MacCarthy accuses Southwest Airlines of racial profiling. She says she’s retained an attorney and wants the airline to be held “fully accountable.”
“I gave the airline plenty of time to contact me and apologize — over two weeks later, I’ve yet to receive anything more than two brief automated responses. The time for an apology is long past,” MacCarthy said.
In her email to Southwest’s media team, MacCarthy said she wanted a written apology from the airline, immediate reimbursement of the full price of their tickets, and “additional compensation to account for the trauma imposed on an innocent family, and especially on a grieving ten year-old Black girl.”
Southwest Airlines said it is “disheartened” by MacCarthy’s account of the events and plans to reach out to her.
“We are conducting a review of the situation internally, and we will be reaching out to the Customer to address her concerns and offer our apologies for her experience traveling with us. Our Employees undergo robust training on Human Trafficking. Above all, Southwest Airlines prides itself on providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for the millions of Customers who travel with us each year,” Southwest Airlines spokesperson Dan Landson said in a statement to CNN on Sunday.
“Had this been a white child, there would not have been a raised eyebrow,” MacCarthy’s attorney David Lane told CNN.
***
-
Mom says Southwest Airlines thought she was trafficking her biracial daughter
Justin Sullivan
After the Capitol riots January 6, the FAA called for the immediate implementation of a zero-tolerance policy with unruly passengers, upending previous practice that allowed for counseling and warnings. Just one week after the disruption in D.C., FAA administrator Steve Dickson said the FAA will bypass traditional warnings and go straight to civil penalties. While the policy was initially set to expire in March it was instead extended due to the still high volume of incidents.
Justin Sullivan
After the Capitol riots January 6, the FAA called for the immediate implementation of a zero-tolerance policy with unruly passengers, upending previous practice that allowed for counseling and warnings. Just one week after the disruption in D.C., FAA administrator Steve Dickson said the FAA will bypass traditional warnings and go straight to civil penalties. While the policy was initially set to expire in March it was instead extended due to the still high volume of incidents.
-
Mom says Southwest Airlines thought she was trafficking her biracial daughter
Scott Olson
While there is no firm definition for an unruly passenger, Dickson referred to legislation from 2000 that allows for a civil penalty against anyone who “physically or sexually assaults or threatens to physically or sexually assault a member of the flight crew or cabin crew of a civil aircraft or any other individual on the aircraft.” (Scott Olson/Getty Images/TNS)
Scott Olson
While there is no firm definition for an unruly passenger, Dickson referred to legislation from 2000 that allows for a civil penalty against anyone who “physically or sexually assaults or threatens to physically or sexually assault a member of the flight crew or cabin crew of a civil aircraft or any other individual on the aircraft.” (Scott Olson/Getty Images/TNS)
-
-
Mom says Southwest Airlines thought she was trafficking her biracial daughter
Michael A. McCoy
The FAA investigates incidents reported by airlines. Nearly 500 investigations have been initiated so far in 2021, compared to 183 for all of 2020. Throughout most of the 2000s there were less than 150 per year. The next highest since 1995 was 310 in 2004, while the lowest was 91 in 2017. Assaulting crew members violates federal law and thus can result in a felony charge. (Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images/TNS)
Michael A. McCoy
The FAA investigates incidents reported by airlines. Nearly 500 investigations have been initiated so far in 2021, compared to 183 for all of 2020. Throughout most of the 2000s there were less than 150 per year. The next highest since 1995 was 310 in 2004, while the lowest was 91 in 2017. Assaulting crew members violates federal law and thus can result in a felony charge. (Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images/TNS)
-
Mom says Southwest Airlines thought she was trafficking her biracial daughter
PATRICK T. FALLON
The FAA has proposed $563,800 in fines against unruly passengers since January. There was also a record $52,500 fine filed against a Delta Air Lines passenger who stormed the cockpit and assaulted crew on a December 2020 flight to Honolulu. For comparison, according to reporting by USA Today, the FAA issued only 125 fines as a result of 750 reports between 2009 and 2013, most of which were negotiated to lesser sums. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)
PATRICK T. FALLON
The FAA has proposed $563,800 in fines against unruly passengers since January. There was also a record $52,500 fine filed against a Delta Air Lines passenger who stormed the cockpit and assaulted crew on a December 2020 flight to Honolulu. For comparison, according to reporting by USA Today, the FAA issued only 125 fines as a result of 750 reports between 2009 and 2013, most of which were negotiated to lesser sums. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)
-
-
Mom says Southwest Airlines thought she was trafficking her biracial daughter
Sean Gallup
Masks are still required in airports and on planes. The FAA reported that 1,900 out of 2,500 complaints in the first half of the year were mask-related, including passengers refusing to wear them correctly and refusing to wear them at all. In the incidents detailed on the FAA website, enforcing mask policy fell on flight attendants. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images/TNS)
Sean Gallup
Masks are still required in airports and on planes. The FAA reported that 1,900 out of 2,500 complaints in the first half of the year were mask-related, including passengers refusing to wear them correctly and refusing to wear them at all. In the incidents detailed on the FAA website, enforcing mask policy fell on flight attendants. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images/TNS)
-
Mom says Southwest Airlines thought she was trafficking her biracial daughter
Rob Carr
Southwest announced in late May a delay in returning to serving alcohol to passengers, originally set for June 24, in part due to the increase in unruly behavior. Many airlines suspended in-flight service last year to limit contact between crew and passengers in response to the coronavirus pandemic. American Airlines won’t sell alcohol in the main cabin through September 13, when the federal mask mandate is set to expire, although alcohol will be available in first and business class during flight.
Rob Carr
Southwest announced in late May a delay in returning to serving alcohol to passengers, originally set for June 24, in part due to the increase in unruly behavior. Many airlines suspended in-flight service last year to limit contact between crew and passengers in response to the coronavirus pandemic. American Airlines won’t sell alcohol in the main cabin through September 13, when the federal mask mandate is set to expire, although alcohol will be available in first and business class during flight.
-
-
Mom says Southwest Airlines thought she was trafficking her biracial daughter
John Moore
Airlines report unruly passenger incidents to the FAA, which in turn imposes civil penalties, but some flight attendants found enforcement lacking. In a May 2021 letter to the CEO of Southwest Airlines, one Southwest flight attendants union said 477passenger misconduct incidents between April 8 and May 15 of this year. (John Moore/Getty Images/TNS)
John Moore
Airlines report unruly passenger incidents to the FAA, which in turn imposes civil penalties, but some flight attendants found enforcement lacking. In a May 2021 letter to the CEO of Southwest Airlines, one Southwest flight attendants union said 477passenger misconduct incidents between April 8 and May 15 of this year. (John Moore/Getty Images/TNS)
-
Mom says Southwest Airlines thought she was trafficking her biracial daughter
Michael Loccisano
Since adopting the zero-tolerance policy, the FAA has regularly released accounts of fines proposed against unruly passengers, along with a brief explanation of selected incidents. According to the FAA website, of the last 20 news releases released by the agency, 11 of them have been in 2021, and the other nine go back to 2013. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images/TNS)
Michael Loccisano
Since adopting the zero-tolerance policy, the FAA has regularly released accounts of fines proposed against unruly passengers, along with a brief explanation of selected incidents. According to the FAA website, of the last 20 news releases released by the agency, 11 of them have been in 2021, and the other nine go back to 2013. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images/TNS)
