Southwest Airlines has issued an apology after a boarding agent mocked the name of a five-year-old girl.

Traci Redford told ABC7 that she was travelling with her daughter Abcde (pronounced Ab-city) at John Wayne Airport in California when the Southwest employee at the gate noticed her daughter’s unusual name.

Redford and her daughter, who has epilepsy, were boarding the plane early when the agent “started mocking my child’s name, laughing, pointing at me and my daughter and talking to other employees.”

According to Redford, she immediately asked that the gate agent stop, saying: “Hey, I can hear you, so if I can hear you, my daughter can, too. I’d appreciate it if you’d just stop.”

The incident escalated further, according to Redford, when she was made aware of a Facebook post by the same agent of Abcde’s boarding pass, where the employee continued to mock the five-year-old’s name.

“While I was sitting there, she took a picture of my boarding pass and chose to post in on social media, mocking my daughter,” Redford said. “It was actually brought to my attention by somebody who had seen it on Facebook and reported it to Southwest Airlines.”

The airline has since released a formal apology, stating: “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.

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“The post is not indicative of the care, respect, and civility we expect from all of our employees.”

The airline also said that while it does not “disclose personnel actions publicly,” it has reached out to the employee involved and was “using this as an opportunity to reinforce our policies and emphasise our expectations for all employees.”

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