American Airlines says a flight attendant failed to follow its policies when she called authorities about a Black passenger's multiracial children

05.10.2023 - 15:11 / insider.com

American Airlines said a flight attendant failed to follow its human-trafficking policies when she contacted authorities about a Black passenger because she was concerned that the two multiracial children with him weren't actually his.

David Ryan Harris had documented his experiences flying from Atlanta to Los Angeles on September 15 with his two children. Getting off the plane he was met by four police officers and an American Airlines employee who had been contacted by the flight attendant with concerns about the wellbeing of his children and suggestions that they might not have been his, he said in videos on Instagram.

The police questioned his children and let the family go after they were satisfied they were his own, he said.

Harris said that the flight attendant had become suspicious over a roughly 30-second interaction in which his "pretty shy" seven-year-old son didn't respond when she tried to engage him in conversation.

"There were many steps that she could have taken before she lobbed the hand grenade of having the authorities called," Harris said in a video. The incident left him "shocked and humiliated," he added.

Harris said that he lodged a complaint but didn't receive a response until more than a week later, when an American Airlines agent reached out after hearing about the incident on social media. He said he was told the airline had conducted an investigation and offered him 10,000 air miles.

In an Instagram post this week, Harris said he'd been sent a statement from American Airlines about its investigation.

"We and our flight attendant realized that our policies regarding suspected human trafficking were not followed, and through coaching and counseling … our flight attendant realizes that their interaction and observations did NOT meet the criteria that human trafficking was taking place," the airline told Harris, according to his Instagram post.

"Our flight attendant in question wanted to make sure that you were aware that they sincerely offer a heartfelt apology to you and your family for their actions, and the results that their actions generated," American Airlines continued, per Harris' post.

Potential indicators of human trafficking include being disoriented, confused, fearful, timid, or submissive, as well as deferring to someone else, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

American Airlines says it provides mandatory human-trafficking awareness training for flight attendants and "empowers" them to act if they suspect human trafficking.

"From the beginning, I didn't (and still don't) think that a slow or tentative response from a 7 year old on an early morning flight should be enough criteria to have the authorities called," Harris wrote on Instagram this week