This seems to happen a lot: Delta Air Lines’ “Reporting Policy” Questioned After Flight Attendant Called Police On Passenger For Crying Child
Being a guy is scary, just as being a racial minority can be scary. We’ve seen this in other news reports of a man stopping to assist a lost or hurt child, and then third parties quickly accusing them of doing something bad.
From the sample news reports, below, a common theme is either a man traveling with children, especially if adopted children or of a different race or bi-racial. Airlines flag them as “human trafficking” suspects.
- Phoenix couple suing American Airlines, accused of trafficking his wife, racial profiling
- Frontier falsely accused NC man of trafficking adopted son: suit | Charlotte Observer
- Florida man files federal civil rights lawsuit against South Carolina county
- Man wrongly linked to child sex ring sues RCMP for ‘tunnel vision’ during investigation | CBC News
- Black musician says he was falsely accused of trafficking his own children aboard American Airlines flight – CBS Los Angeles
- Man and Daughters Humiliated at Airport by False Human Trafficking Allegation – NBC 6 South Florida
- United Airlines scandals: Mexican man falsely accused of trafficking daughter on United flight | Economy and Business | EL PAÍS English
- American Airlines Apologizes For False Accusation Of Child Trafficking – Live and Let’s Fly
- Man falsely accused of being sexual predator while visiting daughter in Cobb County, video shows – WSB-TV Channel 2 – Atlanta
- Virginia dad falsely accused of trafficking his own daughter on a Southwest flight demands an apology
The only example I found where a woman was falsely accused of human trafficking by an airline:
The airlines have a high “false positive rate” – and they don’t care. Dads get publicly humiliated (the perp walk, interrogation in public areas in the air terminal) – but the airline never makes a public apology, and often makes no apology. If lucky, they offer a private voucher for future travel and that’s it. The airline should be required to issue a public apology and press release.
While the above has not happened to us, I have concerns it could happen to one of our family members (son’s wife is Asian ancestry and they have 2 kids).
Many years ago, when my youngest daughter was still in high school, the two of us drove to Canada to attend an airshow. It occurred to me that as a Dad traveling with a teen, I was potentially suspect, even though we both had passports. I believe that was the trip where upon re-entry to the U.S., they decided to thoroughly search our car, for no reason.