A Virginia father is seeking an apology from Southwest. In a recent interview with the local NBC affiliate, John Kerrigan spoke out against the airline after it accused him of trafficking his daughter and her friend during an October flight.
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The situation occurred on Oct. 21, when, for reasons unknown, the flight crew notified airport security that they suspected Kerrigan of trafficking the girls. When the plane landed, Kerrigan was taken off the plane by three officers.
While Kerrigan was questioned by officers and eventually released, he was left embarrassed by the encounter.
Kerrigan claimed that he received an email from Southwest after the fact, which read in part, “We regret your disappointment.” The airline offered him a $1,500 flight credit too. Southwest did not, however, offer an apology for Kerrigan’s experience, he claimed.
“It’s kind of like a non-apology type of thank you or have a nice day type of thing,” he told the outlet. “It didn’t seem to faze them too much. I guess it’s just a large corporation and they figure they’ll take a publicity hit here or there.”
Kerrigan noted that he’s been advised by a lawyer to accept Southwest’s flight credit. However, the outlet reported that at least one similar case resulted in a lawsuit.
The Fight Against Human Trafficking
The rise in similar situations is likely due to the Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Lightning Initiative. The program trains flight crew to identify potential traffickers and victims, and to report their suspicions to federal law enforcement.
Since its launch, the program has trained upwards of 350,000 personnel how to handle human trafficking situations, which are thought to impact 27.6 million victims worldwide at any given time.
While Kerrigan said he supports the initiative, he noted, “but the way they’re going to get you off the plane like that, I think is complete BS.”