Woman sues American Airlines for $6m after ‘drunk’ passenger sexually assaulted her on flight

‘I cannot overemphasize the anxiety I feel prior to and during flights now’

File image of American Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 plane. (AP)

A woman is suing American Airlines for $6m (£4.9m) amid claims cabin crew kept serving a fellow male passenger alcohol, despite her protestations that he was drunk and repeatedly touched her inappropriately.

The North Texas woman claims she reported the man’s sexually abusive behaviour on the London to Dallas service several times but was simply told to pretend to be asleep by flight attendants.

“I tried to prevent this from escalating and I feel like I did not get the support that I needed to make that happen,” the woman told NBC 5.

The flight on 9 November 2018 started normally, she reported, as she took her window seat next to a male passenger who was sitting by the aisle.

They chatted briefly and he didn’t appear to be drunk, she said.

However, he started bragging that he “drank up to 25 beers a day“ and spilt a drink down a flight attendant. Despite this, cabin crew continued to serve him up to three drinks at a time.

The woman says she tried to ignore him but his behaviour became increasingly lewd as he became more intoxicated, at one point shouting, “Hey everyone, look; she’s getting a condom from her bag because she and I are going to go have sex in the lavatory!”

When she complained, cabin crew allegedly advised her to pretend to be asleep, which she duly did.

The man then took a blanket from his bag and placed it over her, making her feel “extremely uncomfortable.”

She says he laid his head on her chest. When she pushed him away, he pretended to wake up and asked her: “Have we had sex yet?”

Pretending to fall asleep again, the man put his hand under the blanket and began stroking the woman’s thigh. He did this several times, despite her repeatedly moving his hand away, and when she tried to leave he allegedly held her arms and restrained her, shouting: “Don’t divorce me! Please don’t divorce me!”

She finally broke away and went to the toilet, only to find cabin crew serving him more alcohol upon her return.

Staff finally found her a seat at the back of the aircraft after she reported that he had touched her without her consent. The man was escorted off the plane by law enforcement at Dallas airport but was released without charge.

“It was awful. It was very frightening,” the woman said of the experience. “I cannot overemphasize the anxiety I feel prior to and during flights now.“

American Airlines said in a statement: “We want all of our customers to have a safe, positive travel experience with us. We are deeply troubled by any allegation of misconduct onboard our aircraft or at any of our facilities.

“If our crews discover or are told about any alleged illegal misconduct that may occur on the aircraft, law enforcement is contacted and will meet the aircraft upon arrival.

“In all cases of misconduct between two passengers, we will immediately separate them, and request law enforcement meet the aircraft, which is our standard protocol. It is up to law enforcement to determine what, if any criminal activity, took place.”