Woman claims she was deboarded for misgendering a flight attendant. What airline said

Jenna Longoria was traveling with her 75-year-old mother and 16-month-old son. (Image: @theperiodguru/Instagram)

In a contentious dispute between a passenger and United Airlines, a Texas woman alleges she was removed from a flight for misgendering a flight attendant, while the airline asserts the incident stemmed from a baggage issue.

Jenna Longoria, traveling with her 75-year-old mother and 16-month-old son from San Francisco to Austin, shared her account via Instagram Stories, now archived on her Live and Let’s Fly’s YouTube channel.

"The flight attendant denied us access because I made a derogatory comment about one of the attendants, not using their correct pronoun," Longoria stated in her video. "Now they are forbidding us to get on the plane."

Longoria described carrying her son for about 30 minutes when the altercation began. She noted, "They denied us boarding priority, and now they’re about to deny us boarding the plane altogether."

In another clip, Longoria confronts an airline employee who mentions the captain's decision to remove her from the flight. "When the captain denies you, it’s the end of the story," the employee remarked.

However, United Airlines offered a different explanation. In a statement to US media house, the airline clarified, “A party of three traveling out of San Francisco today was not allowed to board following a discussion about having too many carry-on items. The matter was resolved and the customers took a later United flight to finish their trip.”

United's baggage policy permits one carry-on and one personal item per passenger, subject to size restrictions. Longoria did not specify the number of carry-ons her party had.

Despite the airline's clarification, Longoria persisted in her claim. “I was speaking to one of the flight attendants and got their pronouns wrong. The other flight attendant didn’t like it. I said, ‘I’m really sorry, ‘they.’ I’m not very versed with pronouns,” she reiterated in another video.

She further alleged that the airline took her family's luggage, including essential medications. "I was holding my son who was having a temper tantrum. I had the car seat on my back. My focus was on getting my son’s car seat on the flight and getting him comfortable and safe."

United’s website states that passengers may check one car seat per child for free at the gate or ticket counter. Car seats can also be used on board if they meet FAA regulations and size requirements but typically cannot be stored in overhead bins.