2 Dads and Their 3 Kids Were "Humiliated" by Southwest Airlines
Grant Morse and his husband Samuel Ballachino were flying from Buffalo, NY, to Fort Lauderdale, FL, with their three young children and Morse's 83-year-old mother, when Southwest Airlines denied them family boarding. Morse says he and his family have never had issues with Southwest's family boarding privileges on any of their multiple previous trips, but on this most recent instance, he felt discriminated against by an employee at the gate for being in a same-sex marriage.
Morse recalls upon entering the family boarding area, the gate agent approached his spouse and said, "This is for family boarding only." At this point, Ballachino informed the employee that him, his husband, and their children are indeed a family, but Morse told WGRZ News that the agent responded sarcastically, "It is family boarding only."
WGRZ reached out to Southwest and was referred to the company's family boarding policy, which reads, "An adult traveling with a child 6 years old or younger may board during Family Boarding." However, the language is vague, and Morse feels that he and his family were profiled by this particular employee, as she didn't inform them that only one of them can board as per the airline's policy, but that "only families" could board at that time.
Since the story has gone viral, a spokesperson for Southwest has released a statement denying any discrimination, rather, explaining that the family was unable to board due to Morse's elderly mother.
The conversation in the boarding area had nothing to do with discrimination, we welcomed both parents to board the aircraft with their children. The parents expressed disappointment that the Family Boarding policy was not applicable to another member of their group. . . . Our Operations Agent informed two parents that another member of their group was ineligible to board under Family Boarding and asked that she board in her assigned boarding group. The two parents did not agree with our policy, and our Flight Crew worked to save seats together on the aircraft for the family as the conversation continued in the gate area.
However, Morse says her statement provides 100-percent false information. "We were humiliated and embarrassed and stood there looking like second-class citizens," Morse told BuzzFeed. "They did not see us as a family even after I told them we are married, this is my husband, these are my kids."