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TikToker Erin Wright breaks down her bizarre and frustrating experience of being wrongly put on the airline's no-fly list.
It was only after Erin Wright tried to check-in for her recent American Airlines flight that she learned she had been banned from flying.
The TikToker had first tried to check-in on her phone after a two-hour drive to the Albuquerque airport to catch a flight to her sister's bachelorette party but was instead met with an error message. Because that "had never really happened" before, Wright "assumed it was just glitching" and instead went to a kiosk. After entering her information, she was met with another error, which she also "had never seen before."
"At that point I wasn't really thinking much of it, because why would I ever think that I was banned from flying?" Wright told The Advocate.
The content creator then went to ask for help at the airline's counter. The employees "didn't seem concerned at all" as she explained the situation, and then made a call to resolve the issue. Wright waited as they "were on the phone for a while, and then got off."
"That's when they were so uncomfy. They were like, 'We actually can't check you in. You've been permanently banned,'" she said. "Of course, I very genuinely don't know why. I'm very confused, I'm starting to tear up."
@erin_wright_ Thanks for being the worst @American Airlines #storytime #funnystory #funnyvideos #airlinetiktok #airplanestory #funny #fyp
Shocked, Wright asked why she had been banned, which the employees would not reveal. She said that they instead told her "You should know why," which she thought was "the craziest thing to say." Wright asked again to know why and the employees refused still, though Wright could tell they "felt really bad."
Wright then called customer relations, which also would not reveal the reason for her ban. She also emailed customer relations but had no choice other than to purchase a $1,000 flight through another airline in the meantime so that she could still make it to her sister's party.
Wright gathered that she was likely not on the federal no-fly list when she was able to book her other flight, but still wasn't completely confident she would be allowed on a plane, though she still did not know why. Luckily, she was able to make it to her gate, all while attempting to reach American Airlines customer service.
"I was really nervous when I bought my other flight because I didn't know if I was actually unable to fly all airlines," Wright continued. "And since I had been able to book on American Airlines being banned, maybe I could also book on another one and also be unable to go on that airline. So, my panic about getting to my sister's bachelor party didn't really go away until I got through TSA."
Wright said that she eventually received an initial response via email, but that American Airlines ceased correspondence afterward, even as she sent three follow-up messages. She continued her attempts to reach airline officials and appeal the ban, even pulling "the emails for the directors of three different departments at American Airlines."
"My mom also had her lawyer send a letter to the legal department, and that's the only time that I actually ended up hearing back from them," Wright said. "I'm pretty confident that if I had never pushed harder they would have like just continued to be unresponsive, which is kind of wild."
It was through the response to her lawyer's inquiry that Wright finally learned the reason for her ban: she, a lesbian, was accused of having sexual relations with a man during a flight.
"It was kind of funny once I actually got the e-mail saying why because at that point it was just so ridiculous," Wright said. "It's obviously not me. I'm a little bit glad that was the reason because it was so clear that it wasn't me."
@erin_wright_ Update!!! @American Airlines #storytime #airlinetiktok #airportlife #funnystory #funny
Wright figured that she had been mistaken for another passenger, which she told the company. While her alibi was rock-solid, she said that "at the same time, I was nervous," because "how do you prove that you're a lesbian?"
Wright eventually did get a refund for her initial $400 American Airline ticket, and was taken off their no-fly list after a call with corporate security, who determined she was "diligent enough in my communication and genuine in what I was saying to at least take me off the no-fly list until they figure out what happened." Though there's no guarantee she won't be put back on it.
"They were like, 'We're going to take you off, but we haven't figured out what happened. So, if we come to the conclusion that it was you, we can still reverse this and put you back on the ban,'" Wright explained. "But I haven't heard from them since."
The Advocate reached out to American Airlines for comment but did not receive a response.
It is still unclear what incident took place that led to Wright's ban, if any. If it truly is a case of mistaken identity, the TikToker is confident "they're not going to find that it was me." While she's "not really nervous," Wright does wish she "knew what actually happened." If another couple did have sexual relations on a flight, American Airlines "can't continue to communicate with [Wright] about what happened because now it's a case of confidentiality on the part of whoever it really was."
To Wright, the whole ordeal has several "concerning" implications.
"It's a little concerning that they can't correctly identify passengers on the plane," she said. "It's concerning how they go about their no fly list. ... There should be a more streamlined process.
Wright now intends to "file a complaint with the Department of Transportation just because of how unresponsive [American Airlines] has been." She is "not really concerned about money" as she made her second flight's funds back through TikTok revenue, but she believes the company "should still take responsibility for it, being a huge corporation."
"I really just want American Airlines to take responsibility for it. They haven't even sent an e-mail apologizing for the huge inconvenience that it was," Wright said. "I'm hoping that the Department of Transportation will just look into it and look into what I went through, and maybe require some sort of change in the way that they go about their permanent bans."
Ryan is a staff writer at the Advocate, and a graduate of New York University Tisch's Department of Dramatic Writing, with a focus in television writing and comedy. She first became a published author at the age of 15 with her YA novel 'Someone Else's Stars', and is now a member of GALECA, the LGBTQ+ society of entertainment critics. In her free time, Ryan likes watching New York Rangers hockey, listening to the Beach Boys, and practicing witchcraft.
Ryan is a staff writer at the Advocate, and a graduate of New York University Tisch's Department of Dramatic Writing, with a focus in television writing and comedy. She first became a published author at the age of 15 with her YA novel 'Someone Else's Stars', and is now a member of GALECA, the LGBTQ+ society of entertainment critics. In her free time, Ryan likes watching New York Rangers hockey, listening to the Beach Boys, and practicing witchcraft.
