VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — John Kerrigan, his daughter and her friend are still getting over the embarrassment they had to endure when they landed three weeks ago at Norfolk International Airport in Virginia.
They say they wanted an apology, but the response from Southwest Airlines fell short.
Kerrigan and the girls were on an Oct. 21 Southwest flight from Denver when the flight crew jumped to the conclusion that Kerrigan was trafficking the girls and notified Norfolk airport security. Three officers hauled Kerrigan off the plane from his back row seat before anyone else got off. He was questioned but eventually released.
Kerrigan has previously said he felt humiliated during the ordeal.
A Southwest email responding to Kerrigan’s complaint uses phrases such as “we regret your disappointment,” but the word “sorry” is nowhere to be found.
“It’s kind of like a non-apology type of ‘thank you’ or ‘have a nice day’-type of thing,” Kerrigan said Thursday morning. “It didn’t seem to faze them too much. I guess it’s just a large corporation and they figure they’ll take a publicity hit here or there.”
Kerrigan contacted an attorney about suing Southwest, but was advised to simply accept the $1,500 flight credit Southwest is offering as compensation for his trouble.
But such a lawsuit has happened before.
Kerrigan’s case comes at a time when flight crews have human trafficking on their radar, the result of the federal Blue Lightning Initiative from the Department of Homeland Security.
A California woman traveling on Southwest with her daughter last year was also mistakenly profiled as a human trafficker. She is suing Southwest in federal court for unspecified damages.
Meanwhile, Kerrigan agrees with any effort to curb human trafficking.
“But the way they’re going to get you off the plane like that,” he said, “I think is complete BS.”
