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A Black New York woman is accusing American Airlines of racial discrimination after she was allegedly barred from flying due to the "tone" of voice she used when talking to a flight attendant, the New York Post reports.
On Sunday (August 7), Kyleema Norman took to Twitter to share the events leading up to her and her daughter being allegedly "banned" from an American Airlines flight.
Norman said she was getting ready to fly to Grenada with her daughter to celebrate her graduation, but their flight at New York's LaGuardia Airport got delayed.
When Norman went to address the delay with airline staff, the mom was allegedly told she couldn't be trusted on the plane.
"Who knew the gift would be her watching me getting banned from our flight on American Airlines and witnessing the outrage of racism?" she tweeted Sunday.
Norman recalled the conversation she had with airline staff before she was "banned" from the flight.
"Your tone at 35,000 feet — I don’t think I’d be able to trust you’d be safe in the air with a pilot and other people," Norman told the New York Post.
After Norman tweeted about the incident, American Airlines replied, "Delays can be very upsetting. Please continue to work with the airport team for assistance with any possible rebooking."
However, the New York mom quickly fired back saying that the airline staff wouldn't allow her to rebook or get her baggage off the plane. The manager also allegedly called Port Authority police at some point during the incident, according to Norman's account.
American Airlines said in a statement to the Post that they "take all claims of discrimination seriously and have opened an internal investigation into the issue." The customer relations department "is actively engaged with Ms. Norman to learn more and to apologize for her family’s recent travel experience," the airline added
Norman tweeted an update on Tuesday (August 9) that she had been offered a $125 travel credit. The New Yorker ultimately decided to reject the offer.
"NO THANK U. A trip to Harlem from Brownsville in my Expedition costs more than that! Do better," she said.
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