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An American Airlines passenger is suing the carrier after enduring a harrowing week in a Bahamian jail when she was wrongly accused of smuggling drugs despite the fact that she never checked a bag. A lawsuit was recently filed in the Southern District of Florida over this harrowing ordeal.
The case centers around Alison Dominguez, a Florida resident, who was traveling from Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) to Miami International Airport (MIA) in April 2025. Upon arrival at the gate for her flight, she was confronted by US Customs officials and an American Airlines employee. They presented her with a checked bag tagged under her name. Dominguez immediately denied owning or checking any luggage.
Inside the bag were over 100 bottles of Codeine, leading Bahamian authorities to arrest her on charges of drug trafficking. The lawsuit claims that American Airlines employees at the airport had checked the drug-filled bag under Dominguez’ name before she even arrived at the airport. This allegedly allowed conspirators to exploit the US preclearance system in Nassau, which enables passengers to bypass customs upon arrival in the United States. The scheme would have allowed accomplices to collect the bag as if it were domestic baggage once it reached Miami International Airport (MIA).
Dominguez spent nearly seven days in Bahamian custody under what her lawsuit describes as “horrific conditions.” According to the filing, she was forced to:
- Sleep on a concrete floor soiled with urine and feces.
- Endure periods without bathroom access.
- Face threats of sexual assault from a male inmate.
- Be told by guards she might have been exposed to AIDS.
Her eventual release came after she provided evidence that she never checked a bag and that the luggage had been tagged prior to her arrival at the airport. This exonerated her of any involvement.
Dominguez’ legal claim accuses American Airlines of negligence, including:
- Failure to safeguard baggage systems and prevent internal exploitation for smuggling operations.
- Failure to verify inconsistencies, such as the timing of the bag’s check-in versus her arrival.
- Defamation, for reporting her as the owner of the drug-laden bag to Bahamian and U.S. authorities.
- False imprisonment, by instigating and facilitating her arrest through inaccurate information.
The lawsuit argues that American Airlines knew of previous smuggling cases involving its employees and had identified insider threats but failed to adequately protect passengers. By linking the drugs to Dominguez through its baggage tracking systems, the airline allegedly set off a chain of events that led to her imprisonment and severe emotional distress.
The incident highlights a vulnerability in mobile and online check-in systems. Once a passenger checks in electronically, a third party can potentially check a bag under their name without their knowledge. Dominguez’ legal team argues that if American Airlines had reviewed the bag’s origin before alerting authorities, the situation could have been prevented.
This case raises serious concerns about insider smuggling risks at airports with US preclearance facilities. The system, designed to streamline travel by eliminating customs checks upon arrival in the US, may also be vulnerable to exploitation by corrupt employees. Dominguez’ experience underscores the need for stricter verification procedures and better safeguards within airline baggage handling systems. It also exposes the potential for innocent travelers to be implicated in sophisticated smuggling schemes.
American Airlines has not publicly commented on the pending litigation. The lawsuit seeks damages for the physical, emotional, and reputational harm Dominguez suffered, as well as reforms to prevent similar incidents from happening to other passengers.
Anthony’s Take: This is so scary. I cannot imagine having to go through this when you did not even check a bag (and even if you did, getting something planted is traumatizing).
(Image Credits: American Airlines.)
(H/T: Johnny Jet.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
