An American airline has apologised after a member of staff was accused of ridiculing five-year-old Abcde Redford’s name.

Traci Redmond was travelling with her daughter, who pronounces her name “ab-si-dee”, when she said a Southwest Airlines boarding gate employee at at California’s John Wayne Airport began laughing and took a photograph of the child’s boarding pass, before posting it online.

“The gate agent started laughing, pointing at me and my daughter, talking to other employees. So I turned around and said, 'Hey if I can hear you, my daughter can hear you, so I'd appreciate if you'd just stop,’” she told ABC7 News.

They were travelling to their home in El Paso, Texas, and were boarding early as Abcde has epilepsy.

"While I was sitting there, she took a picture of my boarding pass and chose to post it on social media, mocking my daughter,” said Ms Redmond.