American Airlines accused of shaming mum for bringing breast pump on board

A US woman who claimed American Airlines staff “humiliated” her when she tried to board with a breast pump has said she’s not happy with the apology she received.

Kelsey Myers was travelling from LA to Chicago on May 6 when an employee stopped her from boarding Flight 1243 with her carry-on, a personal item and a breastfeeding bag, claiming that she had “too many” items.

LISTEN: On the new Honey Mums podcast, Deborah Knight and Jo Abi discuss the niggling fear all mothers have. (Post continues.)

A supervisor was called to solve the matter, but Myers was shocked when she mocked, “How many boobs do you have?” in front of other passengers.

“I was anxious to get on the flight because my girlfriend was on the flight with me, and I didn’t have a seat next to her, and to help a little bit with privacy, I’d rather have her next to me than a stranger, to see if the person sitting next to me would switch seats with me,” Myers said.

The mother posted on the airline’s Facebook page, and her complaint quickly received the attention of other social users.

Writing on Twitter, she explained that the company had since reached out to say, “We’re sorry about what happened, we want to offer you a $75 voucher,” to which Myers said she laughed.

“I don’t even care about the money, I want people to be held accountable for what happened, I want an apology, I want people to be trained so this doesn’t happen again,” she said.

American Airlines told Fox News, "A breast pump is considered a medical device and is allowed as a carry on item. We continually strive to make sure that our team members understand this policy and treat all of our customers with dignity and respect.

"We have reached out multiple times to Ms. Myers to apologise and offer compensation as a gesture of good will."

At the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to: dignity and respect. At the very least, we hope Myers’ experience helps to reduce the stigma and put an end to the mum-shaming we see all too often.

Keep fighting the good fight, Kelsey.