Luke has over a decade of experience as a travel writer and aviation analyst. As a passionate traveler based across the Middle East and Asia, Luke offers strong insights into the industry. Based in South East Asia.
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Delta Air Lines passenger has criticized the carrier after a gate agent refused to let her bring a breast pump onboard because her baby was not traveling with her, despite its policy explicitly allowing the device as an additional carry-on item. Jordon Lally posted a video of her experience at a Delta gate, in which the agent tells her that passengers can only bring a breast pump onboard if they are traveling with an infant.
This is despite the airline's policy explicitly stating that passengers are allowed to bring breast pumps as an extra free carry-on item. Lally even showed screenshots of Delta's policy from its website, which were dismissed by the agent as an "AI overview" and not Delta's actual policy. She eventually agreed to check the bag so she could catch her flight.
Delta Passenger Challenges Breast Pump Refusal At Boarding Gate
Lally's 73-second TikTok video attracted nearly three million views in just 24 hours, showing her confrontation with the Delta gate agent over the breast pump bag. The gate agent can be overheard saying, "You are not traveling with an infant, that's the thing," before stating that the pumps would be allowed onboard only if her infant was also traveling.
Lally also showed the agent direct screenshots of Delta's policy from its website, but was apparently told they were AI-generated summaries and were not valid. She says the agent also claimed she had "too many bags" and could not bring an additional item regardless of where it was classified as a medical device. According to Lally:
"These women at the gate need to be held accountable... When I showed her these things on the Delta website, she proceeded to tell me, 'those are just AI overviews, and they aren't actually the policies.'"
What Is Delta's Policy On Breast Pumps?
Delta allows passengers to bring select children and infant items in an effort to "make traveling with kids as easy and convenient as possible." Its website states that, in addition to the one-bag carry-on allowance, passengers can bring a "booster seat or other infant seat," and "breast pump and associated cooler bag" as an additional free item.
It states that these items "must also meet the carry-on size restrictions," which was not the issue in Lally's case, as she claimed her pump bag met the size limits listed on the airline's website. She also shared a screenshot of Delta's website stating that "you don't have to have your baby with you" to bring a breast pump and cooler bag onboard.
However, there is no federal rule requiring airlines to allow breast pumps outside their standard carry-on limits, so each airline sets its own policy. Most US airlines take a similar approach to Delta — for example, Southwest Airlines says breast pumps do not count toward its carry-on limit, while American Airlines also excludes them from the allowance.
Delta Has Faced Previous Complaints Over Breast Pumps
This is the second time this year that Delta has been called out for its handling of breast pumps at the boarding gate. In March, TikTok user Amanda (@amarx76) posted a complaint saying that she was told to consolidate her belongings before boarding a Delta flight in Chicago.
When she explained that her breast pump was a medical device, the employee allegedly questioned whether she needed one and told her that it did not count as a medical device. Breast pumps are classified as medical devices by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Transportation Security Administration ( TSA) also permits breast milk in carry-on bags in quantities exceeding the usual 100 ml limit, along with ice packs and other cooling accessories.