A woman claims that she got put on the no-fly list for breastfeeding her infant on a flight.
On May 15, influencer Sierra Dallas posted a short TikTok calling out Hawaiian Airlines.
In the post, Dallas mouths the line “(@sierradallas) that was rude” from “Hit Me” by Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard, and Megan Hilty.
The text overlay on the post says, “When Hawaiian Airlines put you on the no fly list and blacklisted you and your husband.” The caption adds, “All because I needed to breastfeed my infant,” and tags Hawaiian Airlines.
Hawaiian Airlines didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry sent via its website.
People in the comments are convinced there’s more to the story than Dallas is letting on.
Dallas didn’t immediately respond to an email sent Friday morning.
The politics of breastfeeding
There have been innumerable stories about breastfeeding controversies in recent decades. Many view it as a natural part of life and believe women should be able to breastfeed as needed.
Others of more puritanical views think that it is immodest to breastfeed in public, even if a woman covers her breast.
There’s an entire movement to normalize and accommodate breastfeeding. Advocates point out that women have been forced to feed their infants in bathroom stalls and hot cars for far too long.
Breastfeeding on planes
Air travel is stressful for people the world over. For parents of infants, it can be its own special hell. Rude passengers, unaccommodating flight attendants, and dealing with childcare for a baby are just some of the difficulties parents experience when boarding a flight.
There have been countless stories of mothers being told to cover up or breastfeed in the bathroom.
Breastfeeding mothers have rights, however. Conde Nast Traveller reports, “In fact, all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia have laws that allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location where she is legally authorized to be.”
More to the Hawaiian Airlines story?
Dallas’ allegation that Hawaiian Airlines put her on its no-fly list for breastfeeding did not ring true with many observers. She insists that she’s telling the truth.
Dallas specifically alleges that the breastfeeding occurred two years ago. She says they only recently learned they are on the no-fly list.
Still, many people aren’t buying it.
“They absolutely don’t blacklist for breastfeeding,” one wrote.
“I feel like this is not true because every time I fly Hawaiian they are so nice and helpful with my kids!” another chimed in.
In a follow-up post, Dallas provided more information. “I was noncompliant because I needed to feed one of my babies and I had two lap seats and both infants were crying for mommy,” she said.
She says she would’ve bought an extra seat if she knew she couldn’t have both in her lap.
“Just trying to be informative for mamas out there,” she wrote.
Several commenters said the issue was that Dallas had two infants in her lap. This would purportedly violate Federal Aviation Authority policy.
“You can’t have 2 infants t 1 time in seat bank … because there’s not enough oxygen masks,” one alleged.
@sierradallas All because I needed to breastfeed my infant @Hawaiian Airlines ♬ Hit Me – Megan Hilty & Christopher Sieber & Jennifer Simard
Dallas is standing strong in the face of such doubt.
“They are just not empathetic or helpful with traveling with infants!” she said.
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