Advocates for transgender people across Canada are calling on the national airline WestJet not to allow people to choose X as their gender, instead of male or female, when booking flights.
WestJet is said to be violating its human rights.
“It ‘s a legal gender marker in our laws, it’ s a violation of the Charter [of Rights and Freedoms]said Iz Lloyd, a non-binary Halifax person who was recently denied boarding on a WestJet flight until he agreed to identify himself as his assigned sex at birth.
Lloyd, who uses the pronoun them, said his passport has an X instead of male or female.
“It’s forcing people to travel and break the rules.”
A screenshot from one of Lloyd’s posts on social media showing WestJet’s male or female options on his booking page. (From Lloyd / TikTok)
When initially booking a series of WestJet flights last week, Lloyd realized that only male or female options were offered by sex.
Lloyd picked one and thought it might be easy to change it at the airport, but he quickly discovered that it would be anything but easy. WestJet staff would not let Lloyd embark without using either of these two options.
“I was told directly that the reason I was marked was because I was trans. That was the only reason.”
Lloyd says an employee referred them to the wrong sex several times and made them back off argumentatively even after Lloyd provided it. appropriate documents which listed its gender marker as X.
Lloyd called WestJet at the end of the trip and was told that the airline could do nothing but offer about $ 50 to WestJet.
WestJet told CBC on Wednesday by email that several unexpected blockades with its third-party booking agencies delayed the implementation of the X-Mark.
“At WestJet, our commitment is to ensure that our guests have a fair travel experience and we need to receive additional explanation and apologies for our progress in adding non-binary options to our booking and billing systems,” he said. Denise Kenny, a media outlet. WestJet representative.
Air Canada allows the “other” option in addition to men and women in its booking site. Some trans advocates say they would rather see X.
Lloyd is scheduled to travel to Montreal for surgery this summer and fears further problems with WestJet. (Frank Gunn / The Canadian Press)
After conducting an online investigation, Lloyd discovered that WestJet had said in the past that gender was needed to determine the weight and balance requirements on flights and that Transport Canada did not recognize X, which is not the case today.
Sau Sau Liu, a senior communications consultant for Transport Canada, said that in 2019 the department updated it. circular of advicea document used to advise Canadian air operators to use a male weight for people of gender X.
Transport Canada told CBC by email that weight and balance have a direct effect on the stability and performance of the aircraft.
“If a plane is too heavy, it may never get off the ground. If it’s unbalanced, it can be out of control when it flies,” Liu said.
“That’s why pilots and operators have to carry out a weight and balance analysis before taking off for passengers, luggage, cargo and fuel, for example, to ensure that the center of the plane’s gravity falls below the safe range “.
Feeling frustrated and hurt after his experience, Lloyd used the social networking app TikTok.
To his surprise, the message exploded, reaching more than 50,000 views and receiving over 800 comments.
Lloyd says the experience connected them with other trans people in Canada who have had similar issues with WestJet. Many say they were afraid to talk.
“[WestJet is] being constantly tagged and shouted about it, with several people stepping forward saying, “That’s why I’m afraid to fly,” Lloyd said.
Twitter screenshot sent by Lloyd. (From Lloyd / Twitter)
One such person is a policy analyst and another trans person named Mattie McMillan. She identifies with her and them and uses the X marker.
McMillan says he deals with this problem every time he flies with WestJet to work.
“Canadians on the X-Mark like me, people who go through legal processes to get the X-ID, have to go through a lot of doors just because the big ones don’t comply with the law, they don’t have to comply with Canadian values.”
She says she avoids flying at this time whenever possible to avoid the hassles of “flying with WestJet and being trans.”
“There have been many tears, it’s hard to put in a whole day [of work]and then you have to spend an entire day [at the airport] so that you can participate at the same level as your peers ”.
McMillan has been battling this issue with WestJet for the past three years, and with the help of other members of the community, he recently sent WestJet a proposed call to action.
Mattie McMillan says she’s had the same problem with WestJet for the past three years. (CBC)
He has also contacted the airline’s vice president of marketing and communications, Richard Bartrem, and was told he would raise the issue with the airline’s senior management.
However, he says that if no action is taken by the end of June, lawyers will continue to follow the issue, potentially in court.
“We have a couple of law firms that offer their services looking at any class [action] a kind of situation, but in any case … that each party can keep its head high on a plane, that’s what we’re driving towards. ”
Lloyd says they hope to see a change soon.
“I don’t want to fight all the time, I just wish I could exist, but I also know I have to leave a world for other trans people and trans kids so they don’t have to be afraid,” Lloyd said. .
“I want the Canadian government to do better,” Lloyd said, adding that he should demand that companies recognize gender X.