"A man who says he desperately needed to use an airplane bathroom after eating something bad in Honduras faces a federal charge after being accused of twisting a flight attendant's arm to get to the lavatory," according to Associated Press dispatch.
Joao Correa, a coach class passenger on a Delta flight 406 on March 28, had a acute "bathroom emergency" With a beverage cart blocking the aisle, he claims that he asked if he could use the lavatory in business class, but was told that he couldn't, because Federal Aviation Administration policy "requires passengers on international flights to use the restroom in their seating class."
Increasingly desperate, Correa said that he ran for the business class lavatory but flight attendant Stephanie Scott put up her arm to block him. And here the story diverges. Correa says that grabbed her to keep his balance, while Scott claims that he grabbed it, pulled it down and twisted it. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Scott called the captain who permitted Correa to use the business class bathroom -- presumably before it was too late.
When he was finished, Correa returned to his coach class seat, but the incident took a particularly nasty turn when the plane landed in Atlanta. Correa was arrested after the plane landed in Atlanta, charged with interfering with a flight crew, a felony, jailed for two nights and finally released on bond after appearing before a US magistrate.
The AJC quoted Correa as saying, “I’m devastated. I’m so traumatized emotionally. It’s been really, really hard on me. I’ve never had any event with the police in my life.” He is 43 years old, lives in Ohio with h is wife and two children and is a marketing manager with Philips Healthcare who had been a business trip to Central America.
The media reported that Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott released a statement saying flight crews "do everything within the limits of the law to ensure the safety and security of our passengers."
The Consumerist, a website that didn't opt for delicacy or diplomacy, commented, "Had he [Correa] followed their [the crew's] instructions, Delta would have had an entire flight full of angry, complaining, and sickened passengers, along with quite likely a lawsuit from the man they forced to shit himself because they were too busy passing out drinks. Instead, Delta loses nothing, the TSA* continues to say this is in everyone's best interest, and Joao Correa is charged with a felony because he had diarrhea on an airplane." *The FAA actually, but the two agencies' initials are not germane to this unfortunate incident.
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Common sense seems to be very UNcommon these days in the airline world. Everyone who has done much traveling has, at one time or another, had intestinal problems that waylaid them unexpectedly and required a frantic search for a bathroom. Shame on the flight attendant who apparently cared more about "rules" than about the passengers in her care--
ReplyDeleteThis really makes my blood boil. I am fine with different fare classes but there is no way that should mean preventing use of the bathrooms. That is just ridiculous. I experience the same rules on a recent United flight - thankfully I was not in desperate need but the drinks cart was blocking my access to the bathrooms for us mere commoners. The bathrooms for business class were unoccupied and yet the flight attendant smugly told me I was not able to use them. I hope this case brings shame on Delta et al - how could this possibly be a safety issue?
ReplyDeleteIt's a great argument in favor of one-class airlines and equal treatmen for everyone isn't it.
ReplyDelete