Airline forced to apologise for making fun of 5-year-old’s name

Airline forced to apologise for making fun of 5-year-old’s name

Southwest Airlines has apologised after an employee allegedly laughed at a 5-year-old’s boarding pass and posted pictures of it on social media.

What was so funny about this particular boarding pass? The little girl’s name was Abcde (pronounced ‘Ab-si-dee’)

https://twitter.com/ABC7Veronica/status/1067923437446778881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smh.com.au%2Fworld%2Fnorth-america%2Fairline-sorry-after-gate-agent-allegedly-mocks-5-year-old-named-abcde-20181130-p50jab.html

According to The Washington Post, Traci Redford and her daughter were preparing to board a flight from Santa Ana, California to El Paso when a gate agent saw Abcde’s name and began laughing and showing other employees.

“So I turned around and just said, ‘Hey, I can hear you, so if I can hear you, my daughter can, too. I’d appreciate if you’d just stop,’ ” Redford told KABC.

“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.”

The airline has since apologised and said the employee’s post on social media is not indicative of the “care, respect, and civility” it expects from its employees.

“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,” a spokesman for the airline said according to the Post.

“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 emphasise our expectations for all Employees.”

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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