American Airlines asked Wednesday that the federal government not use its planes to transfer and transport children who were separated from their families at the southern border, and said President Trump’s zero tolerance policy was “not at all aligned” with the companies values.
“We have therefore requested the federal government to immediately refrain from using American for the purpose of transporting children who have been separated from their families due to the current immigration policy,” American Airlines said in a statement.
[Update: DHS fires back at defiant airlines: We keep the skies safe]
Although the airline said it had no knowledge of the government using their planes and services to transport these children, the company said it would be “extremely disappointed” if it learned otherwise.
“We have no desire to be associated with separating families, or worse, to profit from it,” the statement reads. “We have every expectation the government will comply with our request and we thank them for doing so.”
The statement was released after a Facebook post emerged of a woman who claimed to be recounting a story from her friend that worked as a flight attendant who witnessed 16 children being transported from Arizona to Florida.
“I pray that these 16 scared little souls, as well as all the other thousands, find their way to reuniting with their loved ones,” the story read after describing that the children were “dressed in black and gray cheap Walmart sweat suits” on the redeye flight.
CBS reached out to United Airlines and received similar comments to that of American.
“Based on our serious concerns about this policy and how it’s in deep conflict with our company’s values, we have contacted federal officials to inform them that they should not transport immigrant children on United aircraft who have been separated from their parents,” United CEO Oscar Munoz said in a statement. “Our company’s shared purpose is to connect people and unite the world. This policy and its impact on thousands of children is in deep conflict with that mission and we want no part of it.”
Frontier Airlines also weighed in on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
“Frontier prides itself on being a family airline and we will not knowingly allow our flights to be used to transport migrant children away from their families,” Frontier tweeted. “At this time, we are not aware if Frontier has been used for this purpose.”
Frontier prides itself on being a family airline and we will not knowingly allow our flights to be used to transport migrant children away from their families. At this time, we are not aware if Frontier has been used for this purpose.
— Frontier Airlines (@FlyFrontier) June 20, 2018
