PHOENIX, AZ – Delta Airlines has been accused of being discriminatory against the LGBT+ community after an Arizona resident said they wanted to purchase a gender “X” plane ticket for her nonbinary child and was denied, with the company’s booking tools only giving her choices for “male” or “female” only.
Dawn Henry, 52, issued several tweets aimed at Delta last week, relating to how she attempted to buy a plane ticket so her 21 year-old child – who identifies as neither male or female, but instead uses an “X” on their birth certificate and Washington state driver’s license – could come and visit the family for Christmas.
However, she was furious to discover that Delta’s online booking tools would only allow her to select male or female options.
“@Delta is discriminating against #nonbinary individuals and not allowing them to fly despite legal ID issued by states that allow X on birth certificates and state-issued IDs,” she tweeted. “This thread is the ongoing saga of me trying to purchase a ticket for my non-binary adult child.”
The Twitter thread goes on to chronicle Henry’s ongoing attempts to get Delta to change their policies, while repeatedly claiming that the airline would “not allow” her “nonbinary LGBTQ kid” to fly unless they chose “male” or “female” on the ticket.
Henry – who has stated she is not seeking legal action against Delta – said that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requires boarding passes to match a flyer’s state-issued ID, and that the TSA allows “X” designations; however, Delta does not.
“The problem isn’t with TSA,” she tweeted. “The problem is airlines, like @Delta and @AlaskaAir.”
Currently, two airlines – American and United – allow different identity options for nonbinary flyers.
A Delta spokesperson stated that the reason the airline does not currently offer nonbinary options for tickets is because adding it is a convoluted process, and that plans to make it available should be in-place later in 2022.
“Delta Air Lines is a proud, long-time supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and we understand that being seen and acknowledged is part of having an equitable travel experience,” the spokesperson said. “While we quickly shifted focus due to COVID in early 2020 to helping customers navigate the rapidly changing environment and government regulations, we are back on track to be able to offer a non-binary gender option in our booking systems in 2022,” the rep added.
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