A female passenger has been given 5,000 free travel miles after American Airlines took no action against a man who fondled himself next to her during a flight.
The unidentified victim was traveling from Orlando to Dallas last week when the suspect started talking to her and told her he was going to visit his daughter and grandson.
He then asked her if she wanted a drink, which she promptly refused.
Not long after the conversation, the victim saw the man with his hands in his shorts and facing her.
She said Action News Jax: ‘He looked straight at me and his body turned slightly and looked towards me.
“I can see his fingers were in his shorts, all the way down to his groin area. And he was just stroking himself.
She was able to record the entire incident on her phone.
The unidentified victim was traveling from Orlando to Dallas last week when she saw the suspect with his hands down his shorts and facing her (pictured with her back to the camera)
She said: ‘He looked straight at me and his body turned slightly and looked towards me’
“I was like, you know what now, what do we do from here? For example, do I need to submit an incident report? For example, will I get an escort? Something, because I feel unsafe right now,” she continued.
Once she understood what was happening, she approached a flight attendant and told her about the situation. The attendant moved her seat to a seat at the back of the plane.
Once she understood what was happening, she approached a flight attendant and told her about the situation. The attendant moved her seat to a seat at the back of the plane
The victim further told the channel that once the flight landed, the attendant did not inform any authorities at the airport and no action was taken against the man.
She ended up calling American Airlines customer service, who simply told her she had to file a claim online.
Although their solution to the problem was not much, the victim expected that filing the online report would result in the police taking action against the man.
She was wrong.
The airline sent her a letter stating that “safety is our top priority” and offered her five thousand bonus miles as a “kind gesture.”
The victim said in the interview: ‘As a courtesy for your experience during the flight, we are going to award you 5,000 miles, which I thought was a slap in the face.’
The airline sent her a letter stating that ‘safety is our top priority’ and offered her five thousand bonus miles as a ‘kind gesture’
Officials also told her that since the incident occurred on air, the FBI would investigate the matter
After being disappointed by the airlines’ response, she approached law enforcement officials in Dallas, who told her that the airlines had not followed protocol.
Officials also told her that the FBI would investigate the matter since the incident occurred in the air.
In 2018, the FBI investigated 27 cases of sexual assault on airplanes. In 2022, the number of reported sexual crimes will have more than tripled to 90.
About 62 cases have been recorded in 2023 and officials believe that the number of cases of sexual assault on planes will be higher than the previous year.
In such cases, the airlines are supposed to report the complaint to the officials instead of the victim.