EXCLUSIVE: ‘I will sue!’ Pregnant woman kicked off EasyJet along with her disabled child, her husband and all the other passengers after row with air hostess is planning legal action against the airline – and vows to never fly again
A pregnant mother who was kicked off an EasyJet flight with her family after an argument with cabin crew plans to sue the airline for emotional distress.
Siobhan Foster, 34, and her relatives were thrown from a flight from Belfast to Ibiza on August 19 was labeled as ‘offensive’ by a ‘grumpy’ flight attendant.
Beautician Mrs Foster says she was ‘singled out’ when she asked about top cabinets.
However, EasyJet says its group ‘behaved disruptively’, something it denies.
Her and her company was told they wouldn’t fly from Belfast that day – meaning they had to spend £1,500 the next day to fly from Dublin to make it to her brother’s wedding.
But while there, Mrs. Foster began experiencing stomach pains caused by all the stress, which marred the day and left her concerned about her unborn baby.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, she said: ‘I have spoken to a lawyer about what happened to us.
“I have plans to sue them for emotional distress. I don’t know yet what amount I will ask from them.
‘The baby is due in five weeks and after everything that’s happened, I don’t think I’ll ever get on a plane again.
Beautician Siobhan Foster says she was ‘singled out’ when she asked about overhead lockers – EasyJet says her group ‘behaved disruptively’, something she denies.
Mrs Foster and construction worker husband James, 30, and their disabled daughter were removed
‘At the wedding I had a lot of pain in my stomach because of all the stress. I was obviously worried about the baby.”
Mrs Foster and construction worker husband James, 30, and their disabled daughter Florence were taken off the plane after the row occurred on August 19.
She explained that they were seated in the “first seats” after paying for extra legroom in an effort to make her trip more comfortable because she was pregnant.
“This flight attendant had such a grumpy look on her face,” she recalled. ‘James sat down with Florence and I asked her if there was any room in the upper cupboards. Her response was a sharp “Clearly not.”
The heavily pregnant mother says she asked the flight attendant if she could help her find a place for her luggage, but was told: “You’ll have to find a place yourself.”
She then found a place for her bag, put it in the overhead bin and sat down, Ms Foster recalled. She said the crew then came to her and said I was being aggressive.
Mrs Foster claims there was ‘literally nowhere’ for her to put her bag and then said: ‘Can you please help me, I’m heavily pregnant and my husband has our daughter.’
Siobhan Foster has claimed she and her husband James were thrown off an EasyJet flight from Belfast to Ibiza
A video shows passengers leaving the EasyJet flight after the alleged incident
She says the flight attendant’s response was, “You’re being ridiculous and it’s not my job to help you.”
‘Then another flight attendant – an older lady – approached me to say, “Look, this isn’t our job to help,” so I said that every other airline I’ve flown has been more than helpful to me because I’m pregnant am, etc.,” Mrs. Foster recalled.
The plane was then cleared of passengers as they were all removed, although most were eventually allowed to board again. It is not clear why they were all removed.
Video footage shared on social media apparently shows a trail of them collecting luggage and bags on the runway.
Siobhan Foster and her husband James are pictured together
The EasyJet plane Ms Foster claims was kicked off after an argument with a flight attendant
The video shows passengers leaving the EasyJet flight after the alleged altercation
EasyJet denies any wrongdoing and insists they are not to blame. A spokesperson said staff took action following a “group of passengers behaving disruptively at check-in and subsequently on board”, before adding that the airline “does not tolerate abusive or threatening behavior towards our crew or other passengers”.
Video shows a member of the wedding party, who filmed the alleged incident, telling staff, “Everyone saw it. The whole plane.’
You see the pilot standing in the doorway as someone repeats, “Walk away.”
Ms Foster and her party were then escorted from the airport by sheepish-looking police.
The party then had to catch a bus to Dublin to catch flights the next day to take them to the wedding at a cost of £1,500.
But she told MailOnline that after flying to the wedding on Ryanair, she actually returned on an EasyJet flight.
She said: ‘I was actually scared because I wondered if they would stop me.
“But they were absolutely fine and there were no problems whatsoever.”
Passengers were reportedly forced to wait for hours after the apparent incident
EasyJet said passengers behaved ‘disruptively at check-in and afterwards on board’
Mrs Foster, pictured with her husband, said: ‘I am so traumatized I don’t know how I will ever fly again. “Everyone on that plane is filing complaints – some even stood on the plane to tell the pilot that it was that flight attendant who was aggressive towards me, not me.”
An EasyJet spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘We can confirm that flight EZY3003 from Belfast to Ibiza was attended by police prior to departure on August 19 due to a group of passengers who were disruptive at check-in and then boarding.
EasyJet’s cabin crew and ground agents are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time.
“The captain made the decision to ask all passengers on the flight to return to the terminal so that the situation could be resolved. As soon as that was the case, they boarded again and the plane took off for Ibiza.
While such incidents are rare, we take them very seriously and will not tolerate abusive or threatening behavior towards our crew or other passengers. We would like to apologize to the other passengers for any inconvenience caused by the delay.
‘The safety and well-being of our passengers, crew and ground agents is always easyJet’s priority.’