A widowed mother from Texas says she was only concerned about getting her son and her 75-year-old mother home when she was kicked off a United flight because of a staff member’s misconduct.
Jenna Longoria claims the trio were kicked off a flight from San Francisco to Austin on Wednesday after she ‘accidentally’ referred to a female employee who identified as a man.
Footage shared by Longoria shows the moment United operations manager Gabriella Chidom informs her she won’t be able to board the flight over ‘what came out of her mouth’.
Chidom was not the employee who was mistreated, according to Longoria
United claimed in a statement that Longoria was not allowed to board the flight because of a problem with her carry-on bags, but video of the incident appears to show a different reason.
Longoria told DailyMail.com on Thursday that the airline’s explanation ‘makes no sense’ and the company is offering a different version of events because they know what they did was ‘unfair’.
Jenna Longoria accused United Airlines of preventing her and her mother from flying from San Francisco to Houston on Wednesday after using the wrong pronoun for a flight attendant.
She said there was a discussion about her carry-on bags, but that it was resolved before she was told she would not be allowed to board the plane and could even be banned from the airline for life because of her words.
The mother-of-one claims a United employee, who identified herself as female, was visibly shaken when Longoria – who was distracted by her son having a meltdown – said ‘thank you, sir’ as she was handed back the card of boarding.
Longoria says she was exhausted and struggling with her bags because her mother, who had come to help her with them, was not allowed to board with her and her son beforehand.
As she was about to board the plane, Longoria encountered a male flight attendant and asked him for help, saying something like, ‘Can you help me? He will not let my mother pass.’
Footage shared by Longoria shows the moment United operations manager Gabriella Chidom informs her she won’t be able to board the flight over ‘what came out of her mouth’. Chidom was not the employee who was mistreated, according to Longoria
According to her Linked In, Chidom has ‘experience in developing and implementing DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs, which help improve employee engagement’
The flight attendant then reportedly became upset, asking him, ‘who is he? This is a woman. She is wearing a dress.’
“He then tells me to get off the plane..says something along the lines of ‘I don’t like what you’re saying, I can deny you entry, someone will come to help you,'” Longoria said.
She added that she apologized repeatedly, saying she wasn’t good at pronouns and was worried about carrying her son plus their bags, but it made no difference.
After she returned to the airport gate, United manager Chidon approached her and informed her that she would not be allowed to board the plane in a videotaped meeting.
Longoria claims Chidon didn’t offer an alternate flight or any additional information, simply saying someone would be in touch and threatening she could be banned from the airline.
Longoria said she apologized for misgendering the airline employee, adding that her son was having a ‘meltdown’ as they waited to board the plane.
Footage shared by Longoria shows Chidom saying: ‘I have to find the facts. I need to get my teams together. On the flight must receive their statements. I need statements.
“I don’t want to verbalize what I thought I heard.”
According to the Texas mother, it wasn’t until she shared the story on social media that United gave her a later flight.
Longoria insisted that she is not a political person, her intention was not to upset anyone and she was just distracted while dealing with her baby and elderly mother.
“My priority was my son,” she told DailyMail.com.
“I don’t have an agenda… the trans thing, it’s not on my radar. I’m just a mom trying to get from point A to point B with my baby and my elderly mother.’
Longoria is a prominent women’s health expert known as the “Period Guru”
According to her Linked In, Chidom has ‘experience in developing and implementing DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs, which help improve employee engagement.’
United Airlines cast doubt on Longoria’s version of events by releasing a statement about what happened.
“A pair of three people traveling from San Francisco today were denied boarding after a discussion about having too many items in hand,” a spokesperson said.
“The issue was resolved and the customers took a later United flight to complete their trip.”
DailyMail.com has reached out to the airline seeking clarification on their statement and what the United employee is heard saying in the video, but has not heard back.