TL;DR Summary:
Erin Wright, a 24-year-old, faced a major travel disruption when she discovered at the airport that she had been placed on American Airlines' no-fly list due to a case of mistaken identity. Initially, she couldn't check in and was told by airline staff that the issue was a mistake with her booking. However, she later learned that she was banned due to an alleged incident on a flight that she had no involvement in. Despite her efforts to resolve the issue through customer service and corporate security, the process took three months. Wright, a lesbian, was incorrectly accused of having inappropriate behavior with a man on a flight. After extensive communication and appeals, she was eventually removed from the no-fly list but has not been reimbursed for the additional expenses incurred. She shared her ordeal on TikTok, which went viral, and has received support and advice from fellow travelers.
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Erin Wright tells PEOPLE how the mix-up has cost her money, time and stress
@erin_wright_/TikTok; Getty
Erin Wright (left), stock image of a line at an airport counter
Erin Wright was all set to travel but was having trouble checking in. When she asked an American Airlines employee at the airport for assistance, she learned the confusing news, as she explained in a now-viral TikTok.
"I just went to the help desk from American Airlines and asked them to check me in and they were really nice," Wright said. "So they go to check in and it errors for them too. They're like, 'Oh don't even worry. You probably just put your name or your birthday in wrong when you were entering your information when you bought the flight. Let us call someone and get it fixed.' "
But the error and its fix were far from simple. After the representative spent 10 minutes on the phone, she nervously addressed Wright, who was starting to worry about missing her flight.
"She's like, 'Ma'am, I'm really sorry to tell you this, but you've actually been banned from flying American Airlines,' " she recalled.
Wright was confused and immediately asked what she had been banned for. That's when she learned that no one was actually able to immediately help her.
"She told me to call customer service. So I call customer service and they also tell me it's an issue of internal security and I'm like, wait, why can't you tell me if it involves me why Is this, like an issue with security or confidentiality?" she shared.
Wright was hoping a phone call would fix things, but she hit a wall when she was told to contact customer relations, which was only available by email.
"I realized that I'm gonna miss my flight, and I just need to book another flight, so I quickly booked myself another $1,000 round-trip flight day-of to New Orleans," she said. "Then I proceed to be like, 'Okay, I'm gonna get this all cleared up, like they'll refund me money, it'll be fine.' "
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty
American Airlines planes at LaGuardia Airport in N.Y.C.
Wright tells PEOPLE that after eight hours and that expensive second flight, she continued to pursue answers.
"It was incredibly stressful, especially because I was going to a very time-limited and important event to me. I was also just really confused because I didn't really know what was going on," she shares.
"I called customer service and they weren't able to help me. Then, ultimately, at my gate, while I waited for another flight that I had booked, I had to email customer relations to get the process started. I was definitely very, very stressed."
In her video, Wright explained that she reached out to American Airlines' corporate security, at which point she learned, "I have been banned because I was having sexual relations with a man on a flight while intoxicated."
Getty Stock image of an empty airplane
Her shock was immediate.
"Let me tell you, I am a 24-year-old lesbian. Do you see me? Am I having sexual relations with any man?" she shared in the video.
Wright told customer relations that they had the wrong person, after which it took 12 days and numerous emails to rectify the situation. She was told to send an official appeal and explain "exactly why I didn't do it," she recalled.
"So I email them a very serious email but also somewhat funny because in it I'm like I don't really know how to prove that it wasn't me except for the fact that I'm literally a lesbian and I can like get you letters from other people telling you that that's the truth," she said.
Wright explains to PEOPLE that navigating the situation has been "really, really difficult."
"There was no quicker, streamlined process. I had to go back and forth and ultimately do an appeal 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.
Related: Plane Passenger Says They 'Never' Put Their Phone on Airplane Mode — and Commenters Are Outraged
Image: Getty/Andrew Bret Wallis Stock image of passengers in line at the airport
"I get a call from someone, some guy being like, 'Hey, we've reviewed your case and we've determined that it most likely was not you. So we're going to take you off the no-fly list until further notice until we either figure out, whether it was actually you or someone else,' " she said. "I asked if they could call me back and tell me what happened once they figure out how I ended up on the no-fly list and they told me no, because it would be confidential at that point, if it wasn't actually me."
Wright tells PEOPLE she waited to share her story until she was 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, do something or respond. It didn't, which was super, super surprising," she tells PEOPLE.
PEOPLE has reached out to American Airlines for comment.
While she's been removed from the airline's no-fly list, Wright hasn't been reimbursed for the replacement flight and other expenses incurred as a result of the mixup. However, fellow travelers on social media have offered guidance.
"Most of the feedback I've gotten on TikTok has been pretty helpful for my current circumstance," she says. "A complaint through the Department of Transportation or bringing them to small claims court, which can all be done now."
Erin Wright, a 24-year-old, faced a major travel disruption when she discovered at the airport that she had been placed on American Airlines' no-fly list due to a case of mistaken identity. Initially, she couldn't check in and was told by airline staff that the issue was a mistake with her booking. However, she later learned that she was banned due to an alleged incident on a flight that she had no involvement in. Despite her efforts to resolve the issue through customer service and corporate security, the process took three months. Wright, a lesbian, was incorrectly accused of having inappropriate behavior with a man on a flight. After extensive communication and appeals, she was eventually removed from the no-fly list but has not been reimbursed for the additional expenses incurred. She shared her ordeal on TikTok, which went viral, and has received support and advice from fellow travelers.
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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 tells PEOPLE how the mix-up has cost her money, time and stress
@erin_wright_/TikTok; Getty
Erin Wright (left), stock image of a line at an airport counter
- Erin Wright, 24, was headed to her sister's bachelorette party when her travel plans were derailed
- After being unable to check in for her flight, she learned she had been placed on American Airlines' no-fly list, but representatives at the airport couldn't tell her why
- Erin tells PEOPLE how she's navigated the mess that ensued and why she decided to share her story on TikTok
Erin Wright was all set to travel but was having trouble checking in. When she asked an American Airlines employee at the airport for assistance, she learned the confusing news, as she explained in a now-viral TikTok.
"I just went to the help desk from American Airlines and asked them to check me in and they were really nice," Wright said. "So they go to check in and it errors for them too. They're like, 'Oh don't even worry. You probably just put your name or your birthday in wrong when you were entering your information when you bought the flight. Let us call someone and get it fixed.' "
But the error and its fix were far from simple. After the representative spent 10 minutes on the phone, she nervously addressed Wright, who was starting to worry about missing her flight.
"She's like, 'Ma'am, I'm really sorry to tell you this, but you've actually been banned from flying American Airlines,' " she recalled.
Wright was confused and immediately asked what she had been banned for. That's when she learned that no one was actually able to immediately help her.
"She told me to call customer service. So I call customer service and they also tell me it's an issue of internal security and I'm like, wait, why can't you tell me if it involves me why Is this, like an issue with security or confidentiality?" she shared.
Wright was hoping a phone call would fix things, but she hit a wall when she was told to contact customer relations, which was only available by email.
"I realized that I'm gonna miss my flight, and I just need to book another flight, so I quickly booked myself another $1,000 round-trip flight day-of to New Orleans," she said. "Then I proceed to be like, 'Okay, I'm gonna get this all cleared up, like they'll refund me money, it'll be fine.' "
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty
American Airlines planes at LaGuardia Airport in N.Y.C.
Wright tells PEOPLE that after eight hours and that expensive second flight, she continued to pursue answers.
"It was incredibly stressful, especially because I was going to a very time-limited and important event to me. I was also just really confused because I didn't really know what was going on," she shares.
"I called customer service and they weren't able to help me. Then, ultimately, at my gate, while I waited for another flight that I had booked, I had to email customer relations to get the process started. I was definitely very, very stressed."
In her video, Wright explained that she reached out to American Airlines' corporate security, at which point she learned, "I have been banned because I was having sexual relations with a man on a flight while intoxicated."
Getty Stock image of an empty airplane
Her shock was immediate.
"Let me tell you, I am a 24-year-old lesbian. Do you see me? Am I having sexual relations with any man?" she shared in the video.
Wright told customer relations that they had the wrong person, after which it took 12 days and numerous emails to rectify the situation. She was told to send an official appeal and explain "exactly why I didn't do it," she recalled.
"So I email them a very serious email but also somewhat funny because in it I'm like I don't really know how to prove that it wasn't me except for the fact that I'm literally a lesbian and I can like get you letters from other people telling you that that's the truth," she said.
Wright explains to PEOPLE that navigating the situation has been "really, really difficult."
"There was no quicker, streamlined process. I had to go back and forth and ultimately do an appeal 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.
Related: Plane Passenger Says They 'Never' Put Their Phone on Airplane Mode — and Commenters Are Outraged
Image: Getty/Andrew Bret Wallis Stock image of passengers in line at the airport
"I get a call from someone, some guy being like, 'Hey, we've reviewed your case and we've determined that it most likely was not you. So we're going to take you off the no-fly list until further notice until we either figure out, whether it was actually you or someone else,' " she said. "I asked if they could call me back and tell me what happened once they figure out how I ended up on the no-fly list and they told me no, because it would be confidential at that point, if it wasn't actually me."
Wright tells PEOPLE she waited to share her story until she was 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, do something or respond. It didn't, which was super, super surprising," she tells PEOPLE.
PEOPLE has reached out to American Airlines for comment.
While she's been removed from the airline's no-fly list, Wright hasn't been reimbursed for the replacement flight and other expenses incurred as a result of the mixup. However, fellow travelers on social media have offered guidance.
"Most of the feedback I've gotten on TikTok has been pretty helpful for my current circumstance," she says. "A complaint through the Department of Transportation or bringing them to small claims court, which can all be done now."
