Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is apologizing after a passenger complained a gate agent in Southern California mocked her 5-year-old daughter's name as they boarded a flight home to El Paso.
KABC-TV reported late Wednesday that Traci Redford accused a gate agent at Orange County's John Wayne Airport of laughing at her daughter's name, Abcde Redford, and took a photo of her boarding pass and then posted it to social media.
The girl's name is spelled with the first five letters of the alphabet, 'Abcde,' and is pronounced "AHB-sih-dee."
Redford said the family was pre-boarding because her daughter has epilepsy.
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She said she asked the agent to stop and that someone saw the social media post and notified Southwest.
Southwest issued a statement Thursday apologizing to the family and said it has followed up with the employee:
U.S. & World
We extend our sincere apology to the family. 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. The post is not indicative of the care, respect, and civility we expect from all of our Employees. 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 emphasize our expectations for all Employees.
