A weekend journey became a deeply distressing experience for a New York woman who says United Airlines staff left her seated beside a man masturbating while watching her.
The woman was traveling on a 6 a.m. flight from Rochester to Newark when she noticed her seemingly ordinary seatmate touching himself inappropriately.
The woman, who is not being identified because she is the alleged victim of a sexual offense, told NBC News that the man stared at her as he pleasured himself.
After she reported the behavior to United staff, flight attendants told her she could remain standing for the rest of the roughly one-hour flight.
The pediatric crisis therapist was traveling to Boston on September 3 for a weekend visit with friends, according to the outlet.
The situation became even more upsetting when airline staff later instructed her to return to her seat for landing.
She told NBC News that she was ultimately required to sit beside the man until the aircraft landed, with no apparent action taken against him.
According to the woman, staff escorted her back to her assigned seat after she reported the alleged sexual misconduct, explaining that no other seats were available.
She said she was told she would need to sit there for only three to five minutes, but the landing process lasted considerably longer.
The woman was aboard a 6 a.m. flight when she noticed her seatmate touching himself while staring at her. After she alerted United Airlines staff, she was reportedly told to stand for the remainder of the flight.
Because she was seated toward the rear of the aircraft, she said she was also forced to remain near the man for much of the deplaning process.
“On multiple instances, I said I feel uncomfortable doing that,” the woman told NBC News.
She said her experience continued to deteriorate after she approached an agent at the terminal gate, where she was treated rudely.
When she expressed concern that the man could be boarding another flight, the agent allegedly responded, “What am I supposed to do about it?”
She said she received little further assistance. Another agent told her simply to submit a complaint to the airline.
United Airlines said in a statement that its employees “take these matters seriously and are looking into what happened.”
“We have been in contact with the customer and apologized for her experience.”
“This incident was reported to flight attendants on a September 3 flight operated by United Express partner Republic Airways. The customer stayed in the aircraft galley until returning to her seat for the landing. United Airlines staff members learned about it as customers were deplaning.”
United Airlines staff provided limited assistance, according to the woman. The man was allowed to leave, while an agent allegedly responded rudely when she raised concerns. United Airlines gave her a $100 credit as compensation.
The Rochester resident described the alleged offender as a man approximately 35 to 40 years old.
He was wearing hiking pants and a T-shirt. He was ‘pretty normal-looking,’ the therapist told NBC News.
She added that she believes that the man is accustomed to doing such horrendous acts.
‘People don’t just do those things at 6am,’ she said.
The woman said that she got even more frustrated when she saw the man leave without any repercussions.
‘If someone were to vape in a bathroom, they’d be escorted off the plane,’ she said.
The woman filed complaints with United Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration. She also called the FBI.
United Airlines gave her an option to interact with the company only via email, the outlet reported.
Their response was: ‘I can imagine how upsetting and uncomfortable it must have been to experience behavior from another passenger that caused you concern, particularly while seated in a location where you felt concerned.’
The woman responded by saying that the reply contains ‘a lot of blaming language,’ which she found ‘very offensive.’
She further wrote in her reply: ‘I DID remove myself and ask for help. Additionally, framing public masturbation as ‘behavior that caused me concern’ implies that what occurred could somehow be perceived as acceptable.’
The therapist added that she was not seeking a refund but the flight credit she got from the airline as compensation was ‘insulting.’
United offered compensation of $100 to the woman when she complained. Her flight cost her $400.
The woman’s boyfriend was not on the trip with her but was constantly texting her.
‘I was just hoping that she was safe and that the proper authorities were going to handle the situation,’ he said.
The woman will continue flying with United because she still has loyalty miles and an airline credit card, she said.
