An 18-month-old New Jersey toddler was reportedly booted from her flight in Florida after officials told her family her name was flagged.
Little Riyanna and her parents were all set to fly home Tuesday night from Fort Lauderdale when a JetBlue official boarded their plane and removed the family, they told WPBF-TV.
“And I said, ‘For what?'” Riyanna’s mother told the TV station yesterday.
“And he said, ‘Well, it’s not you or your husband. Your daughter was flagged as ‘no fly.’ I said, ‘Excuse me?'”
The airline employee dragged the adorable tot’s parents off the plane as JetBlue and TSA hashed out the family’s situation.
“It’s absurd,” the girl’s dad said. “It made no sense. Why would an 18-month-old child be on a no-fly list?”
After several minutes of talks with TSA, JetBlue said the family would be allowed to re-board.
“The whole situation was bizarre, it was completely bizarre and absolutely made no sense,” the mom said.
At this point, the family didn’t want to fly JetBlue.
The dad said he believes his family was targeted because they’re of Middle Eastern descent — though they were born and raised in New Jersey and speak English without any hint of an accent. Riyanna’s mom does wear a traditional head scarf.
The parents asked WPBF not to identify them.
“We were put on display like a circus act because my wife wears a hijab,” he said.
“We were humiliated, we were embarrassed, we were picked on.”
JetBlue blamed this misunderstanding on the feds, while the TSA said it was an airline issue.