Outrage plane to see
Airlines say they won’t fly migrant children
“Not on our planes,” was the message of major US airlines to the Trump administration Wednesday.
American Airlines and others do not want the US government using their fleets to transport migrant children torn from their families as a result of the Trump administration’s controversial border policy.
“We bring families together, not apart,” American Airlines said in a strongly worded statement Wednesday hours before President Trump signed an executive order to halt the practice of splitting families.
“We applaud the Administration’s executive order resolving the issue of separating children from their families at the U.S. border,” Delta Airlines said in a statement.
American Airlines, which has contracts with the federal government, said it had no evidence that its fleet had been used to transport children sepa- rated from their families.
But the Fort Worth, Texasbased airline made it clear it wanted no part in the practice, which went into effect in May.
“We have no desire to be asso- ciated with separating families, or worse, to profit from it,” American Airlines said.
Since the policy was enacted, more than 2,000 children have been separated from their par- ents. While many of the children are in facilities in South Texas, some have been sent to other locations in the US.
The Post reported Wednesday, citing federal sources, that 300 migrant children are headed to New York City in the next week.
Other airlines, including United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, also issued statements Wednesday echoing American Airlines’ sentiments.
All denied knowledge of their planes being used to transport migrant children but urged that they not be used for that purpose in the future.
“We are a company founded on love, and we want to connect people to what’s important in their lives, not disconnect them,” Southwest Airlines said. Southwest’s stock ticker is LUV.
“This policy and its impact on thousands of children is in deep conflict with [our] mission and we want no part of it,” United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said.