Keith Wright, second left, is flanked by his daughters Kelsey Smith-Wright, left, and Jodi Smith-Wright, and CRARR executive director Fo Niemi, right, at a press conference in Montreal, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. The family has filed a complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission for racial profiling against Air Canada after the airline forced nine members of their family off a flight to Orlando on July 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
MONTREAL – A Black Montreal family says they were victims of racial profiling when they were removed from a Florida-bound flight after telling staff their bags hadn’t been loaded on the plane.
Members of the Wright family are calling for accountability today as they describe the situation July 28 at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport.
Keith Wright says that after his daughter informed a flight attendant the family’s bags were still on the tarmac, the plane returned to the gate and the pair were asked to disembark and not told why.
Wright says seven other members of the family – ranging in age from five to 60 – were also removed from the plane bound for Orlando, despite them having no interaction with staff.
The family ended up driving to the United States in the middle of the night to catch another flight and narrowly avoided missing their cruise.
The family says it will file racial profiling complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, assisted by the Montreal-based Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations.
Air Canada was not immediately available for comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2023.
