Jenna Longoria, a women’s health and hormone expert from outside of Austin, Texas, claims she was denied boarding on a United Airlines flight at San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday morning. Longoria, who was travelling with her 16-month-old son and mother, accidentally misgendered a flight attendant multiple times while boarding the plane.
“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 told The Post, still perplexed by the incident. The flight attendant became upset and prevented Longoria’s mother, who had been assisting with her son, from proceeding past the gate.
Another male flight attendant corrected her, saying, “she’s wearing a dress.” Longoria, focused on getting her crying son safely on the plane, admitted on social media that she’s “not very versed with pronouns.”
Ultimately, Longoria, her son, and her mother were not allowed to board the plane, which departed with their luggage and medications still on board. United Airlines claimed in a statement to The Post that the family was prohibited from boarding “following a discussion about having too many carry-on items,” which Longoria vehemently denied.
Longoria documented the incident on her Instagram, sharing a video of her conversation with a United Airlines official named Gabriella.
Gabriella explained that the captain’s decision to remove Longoria from the flight was final and that she needed to gather witness statements to “fact find.” When pressed for clarification, Gabriella said that Longoria was denied boarding “for what came out of your mouth” and mentioned hearing about “transgender comments” and “derogatory comments about being a bigot.”
Shocked and traumatised by the ordeal, Longoria believes that if the captain had been nearby and heard what actually transpired, she would have been allowed on the flight. She now faces the possibility of being banned from flying on United in the future.
Longoria and her mother purchased tickets for an American Airlines flight back to Austin, which departed three hours later. She has not received an apology or compensation for the additional tickets. Despite the situation being handled calmly, with no yelling, pushing, or shoving, Longoria remains surprised by the outcome and believes that most passengers were unaware of the incident.
“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 told The Post, still perplexed by the incident. The flight attendant became upset and prevented Longoria’s mother, who had been assisting with her son, from proceeding past the gate.
Another male flight attendant corrected her, saying, “she’s wearing a dress.” Longoria, focused on getting her crying son safely on the plane, admitted on social media that she’s “not very versed with pronouns.”
Ultimately, Longoria, her son, and her mother were not allowed to board the plane, which departed with their luggage and medications still on board. United Airlines claimed in a statement to The Post that the family was prohibited from boarding “following a discussion about having too many carry-on items,” which Longoria vehemently denied.
Longoria documented the incident on her Instagram, sharing a video of her conversation with a United Airlines official named Gabriella.
Gabriella explained that the captain’s decision to remove Longoria from the flight was final and that she needed to gather witness statements to “fact find.” When pressed for clarification, Gabriella said that Longoria was denied boarding “for what came out of your mouth” and mentioned hearing about “transgender comments” and “derogatory comments about being a bigot.”
Shocked and traumatised by the ordeal, Longoria believes that if the captain had been nearby and heard what actually transpired, she would have been allowed on the flight. She now faces the possibility of being banned from flying on United in the future.
Longoria and her mother purchased tickets for an American Airlines flight back to Austin, which departed three hours later. She has not received an apology or compensation for the additional tickets. Despite the situation being handled calmly, with no yelling, pushing, or shoving, Longoria remains surprised by the outcome and believes that most passengers were unaware of the incident.
