Alaska Airlines removed a passenger from a plane after he verbally harassed a female flight attendant during her safety demonstration, according to a customer who was on the plane at the time of the incident.
Amber Nelson, a passenger on an Oct. 9 flight leaving from the Seattle-Tacoma Airport, first wrote about the incident on Facebook. She said the male passenger called out “ooh, sexy” while the female flight attendant was demonstrating how to use a life vest.
“Before we could do more than glare in his direction, the flight attendant removed her vest, purposely walked up to him and said, ‘You need to be respectful,’ and started to walk back to her task,” Nelson said in the post. “He said, ‘C’mon, I’m just playing with you!'”
After the safety demonstration concluded, the male who had been catcalling the flight attendant was asked to collect his belongings and leave, according to Nelson.
Nelson told Business Insider that the man was escorted off the plane about 10 to 15 minutes after making the remarks. While walking off the plane, the man said “I didn’t do anything wrong,” but otherwise left calmly, Nelson said.
An Alaska Airlines spokesperson initially confirmed the story to Business Insider, but the company has since changed its statement to say it has not verified the incident.
“I felt honored as a patron of the airline — and as a woman — because Alaska Airlines supported their staff and those of us on board who were demeaned by another passenger’s juvenile and exceedingly disrespectful behavior,” Nelson wrote in her post.
Business Insider
Passenger kicked off Alaska Airlines flight after catcalling Flight Attendant
