United Airlines Passenger Claims She Was Removed From Flight After Misgendering Attendant

A Texas woman traveling with her 16-month-old son and mother claimed on Wednesday that she was removed from a United Airlines flight at San Francisco International Airport after inadvertently misgendering a flight attendant.

Jenna Longoria, a women’s health and hormone expert from the US state of Texas, said that the incident began during boarding when she mistakenly referred to the United crew member using incorrect pronouns multiple times, the New York Post reported.

“When [the flight attendant], who identifies as a woman, gave me our boarding passes I said ‘thank you, sir.’ That is it. That is it,” Longoria, still confused over the incident, told the New York-based newspaper. “She got upset. I walked to the plane to go down the aisle. Then she held my mother back and wouldn’t let her come with me [past the gate],” she said.

According to Longoria, she initially thanked the flight attendant, who identifies as a woman, with “thank you, sir.” This led to the attendant becoming visibly upset and preventing Longoria’s mother from proceeding past the gate with her. Onboard, Longoria sought help from another male flight attendant, informing him that the first attendant had held her mother back.

“He said ‘he?’ and I said, ‘yeah.’ He then said ‘she’s wearing a dress,'” Longoria recounted. Amid the confusion, with her son in her arms and visibly upset, she stressed her priority was ensuring her son’s safety, not the pronouns someone identifies with.

The situation escalated when Longoria, her son, and her mother were ultimately denied boarding, with United Airlines citing an alleged dispute over carry-on items, a claim Longoria vehemently denied. United later clarified that it was due to a “verbal altercation” involving remarks perceived as derogatory toward transgender individuals.

In an Instagram post, Longoria shared a video where Gabriella explained they were being prevented from flying due to the comments made. Despite her efforts to seek clarification and understand the situation, Longoria expressed shock and disbelief over the unfolding events.

The family, stranded without their luggage and medications left on the departing flight, eventually opted to purchase tickets with American Airlines to return to Austin. Longoria expressed disappointment at the lack of apology or compensation for the incident.