White mum sues US airline for ‘blatant racism’

A white mother claims one of the United States’ biggest airlines accused her of trafficking her daughter because of the colour of her skin.

Mary MacCarthy says she was travelling to her brother’s funeral with her daughter Moira, then 10, when a Southwest airline employee made a wrong assumption that she was trafficking her child. Picture: Mary MacCarthy

A white mother is suing one of the United States’ biggest airlines, claiming it accused her of trafficking her black daughter.

Mary MacCarthy, of Los Angeles, filed suit Thursday against Southwest Airlines for “blatant racism”.

The mother is seeking to change Southwest’s training and policies, after she suggested the airline employee had assumed her daughter Moira, then 10, couldn’t be hers based on their differing skin tones, NY Post reports.

She is also seeking unspecified compensatory damages, for emotional distress, mental anguish and more, along with legal fees.

In October 2021, the suit claims, Ms MacCarthy was travelling to her brother’s funeral with her daughter Moira via the San Jose airport, when a Southwest employee made the wrong assumption about the pair.

Mary MacCarthy says she was travelling to her brother’s funeral with her daughter Moira, then 10. Picture: Mary MacCarthy

While they were in the air from California to Colorado, a Southwest employee called the Denver Police Department to “report Ms MacCarthy for suspected child trafficking,” said the lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Colorado.

“There was no basis to believe that Ms MacCarthy was trafficking her daughter,” the lawsuit states.

“The only basis for the Southwest employee’s call was the belief that Ms MacCarthy’s daughter could not possibly be her daughter because she is a biracial child.”

As the pair walked down the jet bridge after the plane landed, they were whisked off for questioning by police, the court papers said.

During the questioning, Moira began to “break down in tears.”

The mother-daughter duo was eventually let go, but Ms MacCarthy claims the airline displayed “blatant racism”, which caused her daughter “extreme emotional distress”.

“The Southwest employee on the plane reported Plaintiff MacCarthy to the police without any conversation or contact with either Plaintiff which would have raised suspicions in the mind of a reasonable person.”

The mum’s lawyer said the purpose of the lawsuit is for Southwest to be held accountable and re-examine its training and policies. Picture: Mary MacCarthy

“To this day, when Moira and I are out in public — and especially at airports or on planes — I’m hyperaware that we might be judged and reported for any interaction we have with each other,” Ms MacCarthy told American news magazine Newsweek.

“It’s a strange feeling to be on alert about your most basic behaviours with your child, and it’s exhausting. As for Moira, she still clams up and doesn’t want to talk about what happened.”

Ms MacCarthy’s lawyer, David Lane, said the purpose of the lawsuit is for Southwest to be held accountable and re-examine its training and policies.

“In using racial profiling to cause the Denver police to stop innocent travellers, Southwest Airlines has attempted to address serious the criminal activity of sex-trafficking through use of a stereotypical, easy formula,” he told Newsweek.

In November 2021, the airline said it would conduct an internal investigation. Picture: Jim Watson / AFP

Southwest told Newsweek it does not discuss pending litigation.

In November 2021, the airline said it would conduct an internal investigation.

“We were disheartened to learn of this mother’s account when travelling with her daughter,” the airline said at the time.

Ms MacCarthy at first asked just for an apology from Southwest, but she said she never received one.

The mother said the interaction made her feel “attacked.”

“Customers should know the true nature of the company they’re doing business with.”

This article originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission