Woman On Virgin Atlantic Received Multiple Harassing Messages During Flight From England

A woman on a Virgin Atlantic flight received multiple harassing messages on the plane’s in-flight messenger Saturday.

Jessica Van Meir, 24, began receiving the messages shortly after her Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Washington, D.C. She had gone to use the on-board restroom and when she returned, the messages began appearing on her screen. She started taking pictures of the messages, which reportedly came from multiple passengers she passed on the way to the restroom.

Virgin Atlantic’s in-flight entertainment system allows passengers to send messages to other passengers on the plane.

Some of the messages allegedly had her seat number and read “you tidy baby,” “welcome to hell,” and “currently you are now in the danger zone.”

“I work for a law firm that specializes in online sexual harassment,” Van Meir allegedly wrote in response to the messages. “Enjoy being reported to Virgin.”

Van Meir then reported the harassment to the crew, who went to speak with the men responsible. The messages reportedly stopped after flight attendants stepped in. A man who reportedly identified himself as the group’s rugby coach also approached her to apologize for the group’s harassment.

“It's on a regular basis that women are catcalled,” Van Meir told CNN “It’s exhausting and it makes you feel unsafe. I was also appalled and disappointed that someone would be so disrespectful and entitled as to send me messages on a flight when I'm traveling on my own just trying to enjoy my flight peacefully and not be harassed by anyone.”

A spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic also said the airline would investigate the harassment and would be reviewing its in-flight entertainment system to ensure such harassment won’t happened again.