Southwest Airlines has apologized to a family after the mother of a five-year-old girl says a gate agent mocked her daughter’s name Abcde and posted a photo of her boarding pass on social media.

Traci Redford told KABC-TV that she and her daughter were about to pre-board a flight home to El Paso, Texas a few weeks ago at California’s John Wayne Airport when the gate agent started laughing at her daughter’s name on the boarding pass.

“The gate agent started mocking my child’s name, laughing, pointing at me and my daughter, talking to other employees. So I turned around and said, ‘Hey if I can hear you. So if I can hear you my daughter can too. I'd appreciate if you'd just stop,’” she told the news station.

Redford said she and Abcde, who pronounces her name “AHB-sih-dee,” were boarding early because her daughter has epilepsy.

The mother also said the Southwest Airlines employee snapped a photo of her daughter’s boarding pass and posted it online. Redford said she found out about the post from another person who saw it online and complained to the airline.

When contacted by CTVNews.ca, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines issued a statement of apology to the family.

“We extend our sincere apology to the family. We take great pride in extending our Southwest Hospitality to all of our customers, which includes living by the golden rule and treating every individual with respect, in person or online,” the statement read. “The post is not indicative of the care, respect, and civility we expect from all of our employees.”

The airline spokesperson also said they followed up with the employee involved in the incident, but he didn’t reveal whether the gate agent had been reprimanded or faced any disciplinary action.

With files from The Associated Press