(Los Angeles Blade file photo)
The mother of a nonbinary adult is accusing Delta Air Lines of discriminating against gender-nonconforming individuals after she was unable to buy a ticket for her child without inaccurately marking their gender as “male” or “female.”
“@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,” the mother, Aurora Dawn, tweeted.
Dawn voiced her frustration with Delta for not having a gender-neutral option when booking in the now-viral Twitter thread.
“I first discovered this problem when trying to make an online reservation to buy a ticket as a Christmas present for my #nonbinary adult child,” she said. “The only gender options in @Delta and @AlaskaAir online reservation systems is male or female.”
@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. This thread is the ongoing saga of me trying to purchase a ticket for my non-binary adult child. 1/x
— ⚖️Aurora Dawn⚖️ 💪🏻🌊🌈💜 (@truth_trumps) January 6, 2022
Dawn called Delta and connected with a representative who “was really trying to help,” but could not change the gender marker to “X.”
After waiting over 30 minutes on hold, Dawn said she was told to use the gender marker on the birth certificate. But the birth certificate also had an “X” designation, she said.
Dawn was concerned because the marker on her child’s I.D. wouldn’t match the gender on their ticket.
“I explained again that my adult child is #nonbinary and #LGBTQ and their ID is X and TSA requires them to match,” she said.
After a heated exchange between Dawn and a Delta supervisor, she was “upset” and hung up the phone.
“I still have no airline ticket for my #nonbinary adult child,” she said.
In a statement to the Blade, a Delta spokesperson said the company is a “proud, long-time supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.”
In 2019 Delta, along with other major airlines, said it was planning to add a gender-neutral option for ticketing in what advocates hailed as a “significant step forward for nonbinary individuals.” However, Delta said the COVID-19 pandemic sidetracked the plans.
“While we quickly shifted focus due to COVID in early 2020 to help 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 statement read.
The spokesperson added that Delta has made other LGBTQ-inclusive policy changes, including having flight attendants use gender-neutral greetings – swapping language like “ladies and gentleman” for “everyone.”
According to the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), 21 U.S. states and the District of Columbia allow individuals to identify as a gender option other than “male” or “female.”
