JetBlue Removes Toddler in ‘No-Fly List’ Error
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Scott Olson/Getty Images(FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.) — JetBlue cited a “computer glitch” on Thursday as the reason it removed an 18-month-old girl from a plane bound for New Jersey earlier this week.
The toddler and her parents were flying from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to Newark, N.J. on Tuesday when they were asked to get off the plane they had just boarded, ABC News affiliate WPBF reported.
The girl’s parents called the experience “humiliating,” and her father told WPBF, “We were put on display like a circus act because my wife wears a hijab.” He added that he thought his family was being profiled because they’re of Middle Eastern descent.
JetBlue’s statement notes: “Upon boarding Flight 510 at Fort Lauderdale International Airport last evening, a customer’s boarding pass was flagged in our system as being on the TSA’s No Fly list. We notified and collaborated with TSA. TSA cleared the customers to travel on JetBlue.
“We are investigating this particular incident. We believe this was a computer glitch. Our crewmembers followed the appropriate protocols, and we apologize to the family involved in this unfortunate circumstance.”
The family decided not to reboard the plane and told WPBF they are uncomfortable about getting back on the same airline for the flight home.
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