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Delta under fire after video shows water flooding passenger’s seat and bag

‘It was a terrible experience,’ says affected traveller

Benjamin Parker
Thursday 17 August 2023 12:16 BST
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Fly me a river: Water pooling inside the plane
Fly me a river: Water pooling inside the plane (TikTok/fornik8e)

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A Delta Air Lines passenger claims she found herself unexpectedly soaked after rain poured into the plane through an open door.

TikTok user @fornik8e shared a clip of the moment her seat and bags were drenched by the downpour, which came in despite the aircraft being linked to a jet bridge.

A pool of water can be seen forming beside the door of the plane, which was flying across the US from Atlanta to Minneapolis.

The passenger was forced to move away from her assigned seat due to the water.

"When I got up because my legs and shoes were soaking wet, they told me there was nowhere for me to stand, and I had to go sit in a different seat," she alleged in the video.

“Then a flight attendant got on and yelled at me because I was in someone else’s seat, so I continued to stand in the galley.”

Although the crew “eventually” cleaned up the water, the passenger said she was left to clean up her seat and the seat next to her, as well as being left with “soaking wet” clothes and luggage.

“No one apologised at all,” she added.

In the comment section on her video, she accused the flight attendants of “laughing and standing around joking”. In response to someone defending the crew members – “they don’t make the weather” – the uploader replied: “My frustration is that no one helped me, or acknowledged what had happened. To my stuff or to me. It was a terrible experience.”

Others suggested complaining to aviation authorities, with one user writing: “Write to the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] and demand your money back… the airline has 24 hours to respond and it’s no joke. They don’t want the FAA on them.”

The Independent has contacted Delta for comment on the incident.

In a statement to Insider, a spokesperson for the airline said: “We appreciate this being brought to our attention, as it is certainly not the experience we want our customers to have. We have been in touch with the customer to ensure she was heard and have also provided her a gesture of goodwill.”

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