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.
Va. Beach man flying Southwest with daughter and friend gets profiled as human trafficker
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.”