Jenna Longoria was planning to travel from San Francisco, California, to Austin, Texas, with her mom and 16-month-old son. But, the trio was not allowed to board the plane. Longoria claimed that it was because she “didn’t use the right pronoun” when referring to a flight attendant. United Airlines, however, told a very different reason—having nothing to do with misgendering.
“When the captain denies you, it’s the end of the story,” an attendant said, according to PEOPLE.
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Traveling with small children is challenging at best. There are extra items to carry to meet the child’s needs in the airport and on the flight. Longoria, her mom, and her 16-month-old son were flying back to Texas when their plans abruptly changed.
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Longoria shared her story in a series of posts and videos on her Instagram account. The posts have since been taken down from Instagram. But, they were also posted on Live and Let’s Fly’s YouTube account.
After carrying the 25-pound child, Longoria requested boarding priority, a common practice for those traveling with small children. “They denied us boarding priority,” she shared. “And now they’re about to deny us to board the plane.”
“The flight attendant has denied access to us because he said that I made a derogatory comment about one of the flight attendants, because I didn’t use their right pronoun,” Longoria said in the first video. “Now they are forbidding us to get on the plane.”
Longoria asked an attendant the reason the three weren’t allowed to board the plane and posted another video of the conversation. The attendant said, When the captain denies you, it’s the end of the story.”
The attendant explained that they were not allowed to board for “what came out of your mouth.” She also said she was “fact-finding” and gathering statements from her crews and attendants.
Longoria asked about the family’s luggage as it contained medication for both her and her son. The attendant said that the plane had already “dispatched,” so the family needed to find another medication source.
PEOPLE reached out to United Airlines asking for a statement of what happened that day. The airline, instead, said the group wasn’t allowed to board because they had too many carry-on bags.
“A party of three traveling out of San Francisco today was not allowed to board following a discussion about having too many carry-on items,” the airline statement read. “The matter was resolved and the customers took a later United flight to finish their trip.”
