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Woman reveals why United Airlines 'trapped' her next to a man who was masturbating while staring at her on a flight
A woman was left horrified after she was seated next to a masturbating man on a United Airlines flight.
The 25-year-old passenger claimed that she was forced to sit next to a man who was pleasuring himself while staring at her during a flight on Labor Day weekend.
Woman horrified by masturbating man during United flight
The unnamed young woman was flying from New York to New Jersey when she encountered the frightful sight.
Despite reporting the man who was exposing himself to flight attendants, the airline failed to inform law enforcement, with the man disembarking the flight at Newark Liberty International Airport unflustered and without being apprehended by authorities.
NBC News, which first reported on the incident, has not released the woman’s name due to her being an alleged victim of a sexual offense.
According to the woman, a pediatric therapist in New York, she raised the alarm with the flight staff but was instructed to return to her seat because there were no other available seats on the aircraft.
“On multiple instances, I said I feel uncomfortable doing that,” the woman admitted.
With the plane preparing to land, the woman claimed that she was told by the flight attendant that she would only be seated for another three to five minutes, but the alighting took longer than anticipated, as she was left next to the man.
Woman describes United's inept response
The man was described as “pretty normal looking and unassuming” and between 35 and 40 years old.
“I just got the sense he had done it before ... People don’t just do those things at 6AM,” she reported.
The ordeal didn’t finish there for the victim, who then claimed after approaching a United agent at the gate to report the incident again, they were unhelpful and rude.
“What am I supposed to do about it?” the agent reportedly exclaimed, before claiming that it was her responsibility to request a police response.
While it transpired that another United employee later admitted that protocols weren't adhered to by the airline, she was advised to file a grievance with the airline's complaints department and the Federal Aviation Administration.
“We’re currently looking into this and don’t have anything additional to share right now,” a spokesperson for United Airlines told NBC News.
The woman said she has encountered public masturbation before, but has never been “trapped” by it like she had been on the United flight.
“It is the first time I’ve been purposely trapped by people who were supposed to be helping me,” she claimed.