Delta Air Lines (DAL) -) is being sued for $2 million after a teenager and her mother were allegedly assaulted on an international flight.
The incident allegedly happened in July 2022 aboard a flight from JFK airport in New York to Athens, Greece.
The plaintiffs, a woman and her 16-year-old daughter, were seated next to an unnamed male passenger, Insider reported, citing the complaint.
The man was served at least 10 vodkas on ice before allegedly sexually assaulting the woman and her daughter, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in New York's Eastern District.
The lawsuit said Delta is to blame for the assaults, and charges working flight attendants did nothing to stop the man from consuming so much alcohol or prevent his behavior toward the women.
“A.A. told the Delta flight attendant that the intoxicated Delta passenger was very drunk and was making both her and her 16-year-old daughter feel unsafe by yelling, making obscene gestures, and touching her daughter inappropriately," the complaint states.
"The Delta flight attendant did nothing to help and just said 'be patient' before walking away."
Victim Has Panic Attack
The man ran to the restroom, where he threw up and while he was gone, the mother attempted to have their seats moved to no avail, court documents said.
"Distraught that her attempts to protect herself and her daughter were not working, A.A. called over yet another flight attendant for the fourth time," the lawsuit says. "Again, A.A. pleaded for help but the flight attendant nonchalantly said 'oh shoot I just gave him more wine.'"
The teenage girl eventually had a panic attack, during which the male passenger reached under her shirt, per the complaint.
"Trembling, petrified and crying," the teen leapt out of her seat and away from the man, the lawsuit states, and he then out his hand on the mother's leg and allegedly "began moving his hand" up the inside of her thigh.
A male passenger volunteered to switch seats with the teen girl and sat between the intoxicated man and her mother for the rest of the flight.
Upon landing, the woman and her daughter were offered 5,000 "Sky Miles" as an apology, but employees did not notify police of the man's behavior, the lawsuit states.
"While we don't have any specific comment on this pending litigation, Delta has zero tolerance for customers who engage in inappropriate or unlawful behavior," Delta said in a statement.
Incidents on passenger misbehavior have increased since traveled resumed after the covid-19 pandemic.
Incidents Increasing
In April, the Federal Aviation said it had referred more unruly passenger cases to the FBI for criminal prosecution review in the first quarter of 2023.
The cases included inappropriately touching a 17-year-old passenger, sexually assaulting a flight attendant and a passenger assaulting his wife.
The FBI maintains a Crimes Aboard Aircraft webpage with information about the types of crimes it investigates and how people can report them.
More recently, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported in June that unruly passenger incidents increased in 2022 compared to 2021.
The most common type of incidents in 2022 were non-compliance, verbal abuse and intoxication. Physical abuse incidents remain rare, the association said, but they surged 61% over 2021.
FBI Special Agent Wess Brooker said that sexual crimes are generally committed by men "and the same holds true when they happen on airplanes."
"Most often, an assailant sits immediately next to the victim and takes advantage of this proximity," Brooker wrote in a Sept. 7 article. "Victims likely sit in a middle or window seat, with the offender closer to or on the aisle, effectively barricading her so she will have to walk past the perpetrator to get out."
Brooker said the offenders’ willingness to find someone to violate and act quickly “underscores the brazenness of these subjects.”
“They often have a history of sexual assault and are skilled in identifying targets from years of experience,” he said.
