Airline apologises for demanding proof mixed-raced child was passenger's son

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An American airline has been forced to apologise after a passenger claimed she was asked to “prove” her mixed-race son was hers, despite providing his passport.

Lindsay Gottlieb claims she was flying from Denver to Oakland with her one-year-old son, Jordan Martin, when a Southwest Airlines employee requested the boy’s birth certificate.

Ms Gottlieb said she wasn’t carrying the certificate but supplied her son’s passport instead. She said the employee told her she couldn’t verify her identity because she had a different surname to her son.

“She said, well, how do I know that you’re the mother?” Ms Gottleib said.

Ms Gottlieb is white and her fiancé Patrick Martin – Jordan’s father – is black. Both were said to be present during the incident.

CBS San Francisco reports Ms Gottlieb gave birth to Jordan in May 2017. Her son had reportedly travelled often via plane with his family, including on Southwest.

“I’m appalled that after approx 50 times flying with my one-year-old son, ticket counter personnel told me I had to ‘prove’ that he was my son, despite having his passport,” Ms Gottlieb claimed on Twitter.

“She said because we have different last name. My guess is because he has a different skin colour.”

Ms Gottlieb said she found the questions “demeaning and insensitive” and she called for better training for employees.

She claimed the employee asked to see a Facebook post which proved she was Jordan’s mother.

“She 1st asked for proof with birth certificate. She then said it’s a ‘federal law’ (not true) but asked me to prove I’m mother with Facebook post,” she tweeted.

Ms Gottlieb told US media she felt she had a responsibility as a “white female with a position of privilege” to speak about the incident.

Southwest Airlines told CBS they were investigating the complaint and had apologised to Ms Gottlieb and her family if the questioning made her uncomfortable.

“We’re looking into this specific interaction, and we have engaged with the customer directly to address her concerns,” the airline stated.

Southwest’s baby travelling policy states a birth certificate must be presented by a parent wishing to travel with an infant on their lap during a flight.

The airline reasoned that this was to assure the child had not reached their second birthday. The policy is stated in bold print on the website.

The policy does not state that it requires proof of parenting, it’s unclear whether the airline has a protocol for requiring further identification for children who don’t look like their parents.

Child trafficking issue? 

Model Chrissy Teigen defended the airline employee, saying it was a precaution against potential child trafficking.

“Airlines have asked this of me, too, with my daughter. Once I learned it’s a precaution for the very real threat of child trafficking, I stopped being exasperated with it. Now I’m kind of worried when they don’t ask,” Ms Teigen tweeted. 

Ms Teigen wasn’t the only one who held this view. Many parents responded to the story saying they were pleased the airline employee had asked for proof of parenting. 

“You can choose to be a victim or be happy they are mindful of children being abducted all the time! It’s a real thing! Thank God for Southwest,” Twitter user @Lisachill wrote.

“I travelled solo with my same-race kids just last month had to prove my relationship with every flight… it’s a problem when they DON’T ask, not when they do,” @DavidJSwisher wrote.

“Glad they want proof, too many kids abducted,” @AshleeWebsterOK wrote.

“Having people ask questions and verify that someone is a parent saves lives,” @Drwdr wrote.

Actor Alec Mapa defended Ms Gottlieb’s complaint saying “not all families look alike”.

“Newsflash @SouthwestAir. It’s 2018. Not all families look alike. This one has to travel with birth certificates, proof of adoption and jump through hoops just to prove we’re a family because of employees like yours. Maybe you should drop by a Starbucks and take a class,” Mapa tweeted.

SBS News has contacted Southwest Airlines for comment.