Tori Vo just wanted to get home to the Bay Area when she booked a Volaris plane for her return on a business trip from Guadalajara, Mexico. But instead, she ended up becoming the latest victim of racial profiling against Asians in a harrowing experience according to a viral Facebook post that has been shared over 7,000 times.
Her post details serious racism from the check-in agent, gate agent at Guadalajara International Airport (GDL), and flight attendants on her flight. Her ordeal would only end when she safely returned home to SJC where a sympathetic immigration agent welcomed her home.
Here’s her full post:
Thoughts
Tori’s post has generated thousands of reactions and shares with many expressing their support and sympathy for having to experience such racism. Unfortunately, there have been numerous allegations of racism against Asian travelers due to the virus. Just last week, KLM was forced to apologize after racism from crew on their flight from Amsterdam to Seoul.
Tori notes that she has rejected an offer for a paltry $50 in compensation from Volaris, noting she does not feel safe flying them until it is documented and she knows “exactly what Volaris plan to do to prevent this from happening to passengers.” This seems reasonable.
We’ve reached out to Volaris for comment and what actions they are taking, and will update this post should we receive a response.
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6 comments
It’s perfectly valid to concerned about a deadly virus that originated in Asia. When 99% of those who contracted the illness are ethnically Asian it is sensible and prudent to be more concerned and take more viral transmission precautions than with people who are not Asian and much less likely to have the disease statistically. The disease has a 14 day incubation period. While there are western tourists who came back from Asia, more who have come back from Asia in the last month are ethnically Asian. As we have seen today, Korea and Japan did not effectively contain the virus and unfortunately we have normal flight schedules with those countries. Political correctness should go to the back of the bus when stopping this contagion.
What’s the sense and prudence in mistreating someone who has reasonably demonstrated, to the extent that one can, that she wasn’t exposed to the virus? Was there a medical advantage to treating this passenger so poorly? I’d say getting grilled at the check-in counter and the random search is fair game, but everything else seems unnecessary. From a public health perspective I agree with you that we should take a heavy-handed approach and worry about feelings later, but there’s an element of your comment that comes off dim-witted and obtuse to the trauma this passenger experienced in-flight. Of course, maybe this is par for the course for this Mexican ULCC and this lady is being extra. If you’re used to flying AS, Volaris must be a nasty change of pace.
Ridiculous the whole story. It is normal procedure to be randomly checked before boarding departing Mexico to the US. She was asked to change seats and she felt humiliated and discriminated? She has other issues, she needs therapy, give me a break…
This traveler gets upset too easily. Racism? Sure. However, she got more space around her because they treated her like she had a deadly disease. They gave her a whole bottle of water, too. Volaris is a terrible airline but this woman should not be so upset.
You three previous commenters are morons and misinformed. Maybe you work for Volaris, or it’s easy for you to critique the facts in an article where you cannot possibly imagine ever being in a position like this gal was in. The incubation period of the virus is not 14 days, it is up to 14 days. The population of Asia is over 4.5 billion people, so it should be obvious that there’s quite a diverse range of people… Aka they aren’t the same and shouldn’t be treated as such. They also looked through every page of her passport and she said she had NEVER been to China, so the special treatment wasnt due to an abundance of caution, it’s because of ignorance and discrimination. It is, however, somewhat perversely satisfying that it’s not us white folks being accused of discrimination and racism this time.
Big deal! This is normal treatment in Mexico, don’t feel special because of your race. Customer service is always bad and the employees frequently laugh at the customer’s dilemma. It shows the level of narcissism of the complainer and the difference between the cultures of the two countries. Especially hilarious is the $50 that Volaris offered. I see this lack of awareness constantly in tourist areas and the Americans and Canadians are the usual suspects. “Don’t you know who I am?” does not work down here unless you are from a powerful Mexican family. Nothing else counts. Get over yourself.