United Flight Attendants Allegedly Joked About Woman Who Complained About Masturbating Passenger

A female passenger alleged that United Airlines flight attendants made fun of her when she complained of her co-passenger masturbating next to her. Also, after filing a complaint about the lewd incident, she was “appalled” that it took the airline company a month to issue an apology.

Referring to a flight she was taking from Heathrow in England to Chicago on July 4, Genevieve Pascolla, 26, who is a professional photographer, took to Instagram to vent her anger at the airlines. She posted a screenshot of the apology sent to her by United — a month too late — and wrote out the details about the incident in a long caption.

Pascolla recounted waking up to noticing that the male passenger beside her was repeatedly touching himself under a blanket. To have proof of the incident, she secretly recorded a video of the man’s inappropriate behavior — that she uploaded on social media — and proceeded to inform the authorities.

“I woke the woman next to me and got out of there to tell a flight attendant the attendants checked and confirmed that he was masturbating in public. Once I got up the woman next to me saw and she also got up. They gave us new seats,” she wrote in the caption.

Everything was fine till the flight attendants who had helped her switch seats started jokingly blaming Pascolla for driving the man to publicly engage in the act of masturbation.

“They then started making jokes about the situation asking 'what perfume are you wearing' and excusing him saying 'he’s had a bit of wine' no one stopped him,” the photographer said.

Instead of giving the man any kind of warning, he was allowed to “finish,” Pascolla alleged. She added that as she was about to step off the plane, the flight attendants asked her whether she would like an apology from the accused man — an offer she refused.

After sending a complaint regarding the incident to United Airlines, Pascolla claimed the company got in touch with her in the middle of July.

According to the screenshot posted by her, the apology by Lauren Michaels, from the airlines’ customer care, read in part: “Again, I apologize for the uncomfortable situation you experienced. I appreciate that you chose United for your travel. We hope your next trip with us will be a more positive experience."

However, Pascolla was not in a forgiving mood as she added at the end of her caption: “#UnitedAirlines referring to being assaulted on one of your flight as a 'uncomfortable experience' is a bit of an understatement. Your lack of action is disgusting #metoo."

In a separate statement to Fox News, a spokesperson for United Airlines stated: “Inappropriate and offensive conduct like this on our aircraft is exceedingly rare, but we have a protocol to ensure our customers’ safety because it is our top priority.”

“That’s why, in this case, our customers were promptly moved to different seats in a different section of the plane and law enforcement officials were summoned in advance to meet the perpetrator when the plane pulled into the gate. Our team also called Ms Pascolla the same day her flight landed in Chicago for a wellness check,” the statement added.