Woman Shows Up for Flight, Learns She Was Placed on Airline's No-Fly List Over a Mile-High Case of Mistaken Identity (Exclusive)

• Erin Wright, 24, was on her way to her sister’s bachelorette party when her travel plans were disrupted
• After she was unable to check in for her flight, she learned she had been placed on American Airlines’ no-fly list, but representatives at the airport could not tell her why.
• Erin tells PEOPLE how she navigated the mess that ensued and why she decided to share her story on TikTok

The 24-year-old, who was set to attend her sister’s bachelorette party, was shocked when she arrived at the airport to learn she had been put on an airline’s no-fly list.

Erin Wright was ready to travel but had trouble checking in. When she asked an American Airlines employee at the airport for help, she learned some confusing news, as she explained in the now-viral TikTok.

“I just went to American Airlines help desk and asked them to check me in and they were very nice,” Wright said. “So they go to check in and they get an error too. They say, ‘Oh, don’t worry. You probably just mistyped your name or your birthday when you entered your information when you bought the flight. Let’s get someone to fix it.’ ”

But the mistake and its fix were far from simple. After the representative spent 10 minutes on the phone, she nervously spoke to Wright, who was beginning to worry that he was going to miss his flight.

“She says, ‘Ma’am, I’m really sorry to break it to you, but you’re actually banned from flying on American Airlines,'” she recalled.

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Wright was confused and immediately asked why she was banned. Then she found out that in fact no one could help her right away.

“She told me to call customer service. So I called customer service and they also told me it’s an internal security issue and I’m like, wait, why can’t you tell me if it involves me why is this, like security or confidentiality problem?” she shared.

Wright hoped a phone call would fix things, but ran into a wall when she was told to contact customer service, which was only available via email.

“I realized I was going to miss my flight and just had to book another flight, so I quickly booked myself another $1,000 return flight to New Orleans,” she said. “Then I go on to say, ‘Okay, I’ll clear it all up, like they’ll give me my money back, it’ll be fine.’ ”

American Airlines planes at LaGuardia Airport in New York

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty

Wright tells PEOPLE that after eight hours and that expensive second flight, she continued to search for answers.

“It was incredibly stressful, especially because I was going to a time-limited event that was important to me. I was also very confused because I didn’t know what was really going on,” she shares.

“I called customer service and they couldn’t help me. Then finally, at the gate, while waiting for the second flight I booked, I had to email customer relations to start the process. I was definitely very, very stressed. ”

In her video, Wright explained that she contacted American Airlines corporate security when she learned, “I was banned because I had sex with a man on a flight while intoxicated.”

Stock image of an empty plane. Getty

Her shock was momentary.

“Let me tell you, I am a 24-year-old lesbian. Do you see me? Do I have sexual relations with a man?” she shared in the video.

Wright told customer relations they had the wrong person, after which it took 12 days and numerous emails to rectify the situation. She was told to send a formal appeal and explain “exactly why I didn’t do it,” she recalled.

“So I send them a very serious email, but also a bit funny because in it I don’t seem to know how to prove that it wasn’t me, other than the fact that I’m literally a lesbian and I can like get letters from other people telling you that it was true,” she said.

Wright explains to PEOPLE that navigating the situation was “really, really difficult.”

“There was no faster, streamlined process. I had to go back and forth and end up filing a complaint with corporate security, so it was a really long process.”

It took three months and several emails to the airline’s legal department before Wright heard back, she explained in the video.

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Picture of passengers in line at the airport. Image: Getty/Andrew Bret Wallis

“I got a call from somebody, some guy said, ‘Hey, we’ve reviewed your case and we’ve determined that it most likely wasn’t you. So we’re going to take you off the no-fly list until further notice until we determine whether it was actually you or somebody else,’ she said. not really me.”

Wright tells PEOPLE she waited to share her story until she was taken off the no-fly list, three months into the process. To date, her video has more than 3 million views.

“I was just hoping that it would make American Airlines like or do something or respond. It didn’t, which was super, super surprising,” she tells PEOPLE.

PEOPLE has reached out to American Airlines for comment.

Although she was removed from the no-fly list, Wright was not reimbursed for the replacement flight and other expenses incurred as a result of the mix-up. However, fellow passengers on social media offered guidance.

“Most of the feedback I got on TikTok was quite helpful for my current circumstances,” she says. “Appeal through the Department of Transportation or take it to small claims court, which can all be done now.”

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Source: HIS Education