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Mum Says Her Little Girl Was Mocked For Her Unusual Name By Airline Staff

Mum Says Her Little Girl Was Mocked For Her Unusual Name By Airline Staff

She claims a staff member from Southwest Airlines laughed at her little girl Abcde

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A mum says her daughter was laughed at by airline staff on social media for her unusual name.

The little girl, who has the unique moniker Abcde - pronounced 'Ab-city' according to her mum Traci Redford, was flying with her mum from John Wayne International Airport in Orange County, Florida to El Paso, Texas a few weeks back when the alleged incident happened.


Abcde and Traci always pre-board flights due to the little girl's epilepsy, and it was at this point that Traci claims a member of the team laughed after reading the name printed on her daughter's boarding pass, as they went through a Southwest Airlines gate.

Speaking to abc7, Traci said the gate agent then posted a photo of the pass on her Facebook page where others joined in mocking the little girl's name.

She said: "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.'"

Traci said her little girl did overhear, continuing: "She said, 'Mom, why is she laughing at my name?' And I said not everyone is nice and not everyone is going to be nice and it's unfortunate."

Traci claims that it didn't end there, adding: "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."

Southwest Airlines has apologised following the incident.
PA

In a statement, Southwest Airlines told abc7 that it prides itself on its Southwest Hospitality, which includes the 'golden rule' of treating every individual with respect, in person or online, before going on to state that the post was not 'indicative of the care, respect and civility we expect from all of our employees'.

It went on: "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."

Featured Image Credit: abc7

Topics: US News