Who is Kyleema Norman? Passenger barred from flight as American Airlines staff didn't like her 'tone'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A New York City educator has revealed she got banned from an American Airlines flight because the staff didn't like her 'tone' when she complained about the four-hour delay in her connecting flight.
Kyleema Norman, a deputy superintendent at the Department of Education, was supposed to travel to Granada on Sunday, August 7. But her trip, which was meant to be a college graduation present for her daughter Bobbie, got hindered after the two of them ended up being stuck at the LaGuardia Airport and waiting for their connecting flight through Miami.
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Talking about the incident, Norman said she voiced her frustrations to airline staffers “in my teacher's voice” but the staffer considered it a threat and enlisted the Port Authority police. “We’re not trying to start a riot,” she said of the exchange. “I didn’t curse him, threaten him, show bodily harm, or make a scene.” Still, she recalled being told, “‘Your tone at 35,000 feet — I don’t think I’d be able to trust you’d be safe in the air with a pilot and other people.'”
Norman also took to her Twitter handle to share about the incident. She later shared a 45-second clip from the airport on her handle which as of Tuesday afternoon had garnered hundreds of views. The video was captured by a co-passenger who started recording as soon as police got involved in the argument.
This is what @AmericanAir is calling erratic behavior! Please watch. At which point do I look like a threat to anyone's safety! #BoycottAmericanAirlines pic.twitter.com/4mLiBUBqSj
— Kyleema A. Norman (@Norman0876) August 8, 2022
Norman further attributed the incident to racism, saying all the other passengers were allowed to board but they were stopped because they are Black. “Who knew the gift would be her watching me getting banned from our flight on American Airlines and witnessing the outrage of racism,” she wrote on social media, referring to her daughter and the ruined grad present.
“She advocated for everyone, but she is not allowed to get on the plane because the person who pretended to help didn’t like her ‘tone,'” Kyleema’s daughter Bobbie said while backing up her mother’s account.
On Wednesday, the DOE superintendent revealed that American Airlines returned her bags and issued a $125 trip credit, which is just a fraction of the $2,145 it cost her for two round-trip tickets to Grenada, including taxes and fees.
Responding to the claims made by Norman, an American Airlines spokesperson said they have opened an internal investigation into the issue.
“We take all claims of discrimination seriously and have opened an internal investigation into the issue. Our Customer Relations team is actively engaged with Ms Norman to learn more and to apologize for her family’s recent travel experience,” the spokesperson said.