A Durban businessman had a stroke of bad luck when he found himself seated next to a couple shamelessly engaging in indecent behavior.
The man, who chose to remain anonymous, felt that FlySafair did not handle his complaint appropriately.
On Monday, he was in the aisle seat in row 16 on a 16:25 flight from Johannesburg to Durban. The woman passenger sitting beside him reached over to touch her partner’s crotch, and the man was forced to witness the couple’s inappropriate behavior.
The woman was giving the male passenger a handjob while they were still on the runway waiting to take off
The man, who could not leave his seat for safety reasons, was forced to endure the couple’s inappropriate behaviour which made him sick to the stomach.
“In short, a [woman] sitting next to me was giving [the] male passenger a handjob whilst on the runway waiting to take off. I could not leave my seat for safety reasons. I had to hear them kiss and laugh for about five minutes, while aware of what was going on. This continued while the plane took off… I felt sick,” he told News24.
The man decided to record the incident, which was seen by the publication, and show it to the crew. As soon as he could leave his seat, he rushed to the back to inform the air hostesses and provide them with the videos he had taken to prove the incident.
The man decided to record the incident, which was seen by the publication, and show it to the crew. As soon as he could leave his seat, he rushed to the back to inform the air hostesses and provide them with the videos he had taken to prove the incident.
Afterwards, the man followed up with an email complaint to FlySafair. He expressed his horror at how such an event could have little effect on the passengers involved and questioned whether there are consequences for such behavior in South Africa’s skies.
After showing the air hostess the video, the man was relocated to a new seat, and the couple was notified and spoken to by the pilot. Despite his expectations that the passengers would be held back or that the SAPS would be called, nothing happened.
The couple was allowed to leave the plane like any other passenger, which left him feeling traumatized by the experience. The man was especially worried about the school children onboard and the possible consequences if one of them had been in his seat.
“I was expecting that they [would keep] the passengers on the plane [after landing] or call the SAPS to the plane when [the passengers disembarked], but nothing happened. They were free to go like any other passenger. I’m now [psychologically] scarred due to this incident,” he added.
According to Advocate Chris Christodoulou, who leads the aviation and commercial department at legal firm Christodoulou & Mavrikis Inc under Chapter 11 of the Civil Aviation Act, 2009, the pilot could have arranged for an arrest upon landing or diverted the plane to the nearest airport and had the offending couple arrested, which might have resulted in the couple being held liable for the costs of the stop.
After FlySafair spokesperson Kirby Gordon said the couple has since been banned from the airline.