The folks at United Airlines are looking into a complaint from a gay couple who say that they were not only treated rudely by airline employees but that one actually called them “f****ts” at Denver International Airport.

The two men were flying home from Denver to San Diego on Saturday when they had questions about access to one of the airline’s passenger lounges. Their attempts to get an answer from a group of gate agents did not go well.

They received “a very condescending, sort of rude answer,” says one of the men to Denver’s ABC 7. “They were trying to figure out who was going to help us.”

They complained to a manager about the service they had received but claim that “As we were walking away he goes ‘idiots’… So, my partner turned around and started walking up to him and said, ‘I’m sorry. What did you say?’ He [the manager] says, ‘What, f*****s?'”

They claim that the manager also threatened to have them kicked off their flight if they didn’t stop complaining. Considering the number of stories we’ve all read in recent years of airline staffers deciding to kick “difficult” passengers off planes, the couple decided to let the matter go for the moment (though they immediately began Tweeting about it): “I started fearing the fact that we wouldn’t be able to get home if we continued fighting him on it.”

A rep for United tells ABC 7:

United does not tolerate discrimination of any kind… We have received this complaint and are reviewing, and we will reach out to the customer directly.

“No one wants to be handled in a derogatory way,” said the one passenger. “We understand things can get heated, but I think their customer service could’ve handled it much better.”

Passenger: United Agent Uses Gay Slur At DIA [TheDenverChannel.com]

Thanks to Paul and everyone else who sent in this tip!

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