A Black musician flying to Los Angeles on an American Airlines flight with his two biracial sons is the latest family to be accused of human trafficking.
David Ryan Harris, a musician who has played guitar in John Mayer’s band for 20 years and also performs solo, was flying from Atlanta to Los Angeles on Sept. 15, when his family was questioned at the jet bridge about human trafficking. In a video series on Instagram, Harris explained his family was questioned after a flight attendant had asked both of his children their names and one was “pretty shy,” to answer, according to Harris’ video.
“Apparently, a flight attendant had called ahead with some sort of concern that perhaps my mixed children weren’t my children because they were unresponsive during an interaction with her,” he said in a video on his Instagram.
As the family was exiting, they were met by a group of officials for questioning. After talking with officers and American workers, the family was cleared to leave.
In a statement to Harris from American which he posted to his Instagram, the carrier told Harris that the observations and interaction of the flight attendant did not meet the criteria for human trafficking. The statement also said the flight attendant offered an apology to Harris and his family.
American and other air carriers have employees undergo training to identify these situations. Southwest announced the start of an additional training curriculum that updated procedures for identifying and addressing suspected instances of human trafficking and sexual misconduct.
“At American, the safety and security of our customers and team members are our top priorities,” said Derek Walls, spokesman for the airline. “We strive to create a positive, welcoming environment for everyone who travels with us and apologize for any misunderstanding that may have occurred. A member of our team has reached out to the customer to learn more about their experience and address their concerns.”
Harris’ story isn’t the only one of a biracial family being accused of human trafficking on an aircraft. A California mother is also suing Southwest Airlines for accusing her of child trafficking her biracial daughter, an incident that took place back on Oct. 22, 2021. She is seeking a jury trial, attorney fees and costs, alongside compensatory damages and economic damages to be established at trial, according to her complaint.
In January, American was facing accusations of racial discrimination after removing two Black celebrities, Dallas track star Sha’Carri Richardson and New York rapper Talib Kweli, from different flights and was sued in federal court by a Black passenger who was kicked off a flight.
In the U.S., there isn’t “good data” on human trafficking, according to Emma Ecker, senior policy specialist for Freedom Network USA, a nonprofit that works to uphold the rights and dignity of survivors of human trafficking.
However, she said, the biggest misconception in the U.S. is that human trafficking requires movement across borders, like state lines or between cities. It is possible for it to occur on an aircraft, she said.
“It’s really difficult to train an employee in a position where they’re only going to interact with someone for a few minutes or a few hours to identify trafficking,” Ecker said. “It’s really hard to put that on like a flight attendant, who may be running a one-hour flight between small cities, to identify someone is a survivor of trafficking and also to identify that calling law enforcement is the right thing for that survivor.”
She said people who are most likely to be trafficked are the ones who are already most vulnerable to exploitation in general due to poverty, immigration status, identities that face systemic discrimination, people with experience in the criminal justice system or individuals with housing insecurity.
Federal laws require airline personnel whose jobs focus on interacting with passengers to receive training on recognizing and responding to potential human trafficking victims.
After his incident, Harris has started a change.org petition to draw attention to the issues biracial families face when flying. He is calling for the Transportation Security Administration to administer mandatory identification card checks for children traveling with parents.
“It is not fair nor justifiable to subject innocent parents and their children to such scrutiny without any concrete evidence or reasonable suspicion and should, by and large, be outside the purview of airplane personnel,” his petition read.