Lakeyjanay Bailey was met by two police officers as she exited an airplane at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on July 20 after a passenger suspected she was trafficking her white little sister, according to ABC 7 Denver.
Bailey traveled with her four-year-old adopted little sister, Olivia, from Denver to Dallas on Frontier Airlines. She said that after she and Olivia exited the plane, two police officers requested to speak with her. Bailey said that they asked Olivia who Bailey was to her and if she knew Bailey. After her mother came to pick her children up at the airport, the officers questioned her attachment to the little girl. A social worker was also called in to speak to the child.
After an employee from Frontier Airlines requested the police to meet them at the gate upon landing, the police became involved. A passenger had notified the crew that they were suspicious Bailey could be trafficking Olivia. Bailey said that she was humiliated by the experience and noted that everyone was staring at them during police questioning.
“I feel bad that we may have to go through that a lot,” said a teary-eyed Bailey.
After seeing her big sister in tears, the little girl hugged her and told her big sister not to worry.
“I’ll stay right by your side,” said Olivia.
Bailey stated the obvious when she noted that racism played a factor in the police being called for literally nothing.
“If the roles were changed and it was a white person walking off the plane with a Black person, like a Black child, I feel like things would be different,” said Bailey.
The airline claimed that race played no part in the incident in a statement to the press.
“A concern was raised during the flight by another passenger who was sitting near the woman and child and suspected human trafficking. That passenger approached the flight crew with those concerns and subsequently completed a written report during the flight to document her observations. The captain was notified and felt an obligation to report the matter. Air travel is one of the most common means for human trafficking. Race played no part in the actions of the flight crew who were following established protocols.”
A copy of the report made by the passenger was not released. Bailey and her mother are considering a lawsuit against Frontier Airlines.
