A woman has filed a case against the American Airlines, alleging that a cabin crew member dismissed her complaints after masturbation of a male passenger for about an hour during the flight.
Neil Elsherif, CEO of several companies, including luxury vegetarian leather brand fair, claims that the incident took place on 27 May from JFK Airport in New York to Milan. According to the trial filed in the Brooklin Federal Court, the man – only known as “John Do” – was drunk after consuming several glasses of champagne. Ms. Elsherif noticed that before the situation progressed, she was rubbing her waist on her pants, citing legal filing.
As the cabin light decreased, John Doe continued to masturbate for about 60 minutes. “John Doe continued to masturbate. Frozen on her seat, Ms. Elshef expressed apprehension for her safety and hoped that a crew members would intervene.
When the man finally stopped, Ms. Elsherif reported misconduct to a flight attendant – she claims only with indifference, she claims. The lawsuit states that the crew member told him that “there is exactly nothing (he) cannot do anything” and suggested that he shifted to the coach instead.
Ms. Elsherif, who paid $ 3,000 (more than Rs 2.5 lakh) for her seat, opposed. The flight attendant allegedly replied, “Men only do the same thing in this way,” saying that her own husband “did the same as such.
“The flight crew failed to report the incident and did not even talk to John Do,” is written in the legal filing.
Ms. Elsherif, who belongs to Arabia and Middle Eastern dynasty, also accuses racial bias in dealing with the situation in the airline. She claims that because she is an Arab woman, her report was not considered as a case of sexual harassment according to People Magazine.
“The flight attendant gave preference treatment to John Does (her) and treated John Doe’s safety, comfort, and convenience, (her) more significantly than (her), because John Doo is a white male,” said in the lawsuit.
After going to the coach, Ms. Elsherif says she attached the same flight attendant to serve John Do Champagne and engage in a friendly conversation with her.
His lawyers are demanding loss for negligence, discrimination and intentional negligence of emotional crisis.
American Airlines said in a statement by People’s Magazine, “American tries to provide a positive experience to everyone who travels with us. We are reviewing the allegations of complaint.”
