‘Your patience is something to be studied’: Aggressive passenger and unfeeling flight attendant nearly get woman booted from West Jet flight
The TikToker said it was the most "dehumanizing experience I’ve ever had on a plane.”
Tom Disalvo
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Published: Nov 14, 2024 05:15 am
Another day, another serving of airplane chaos courtesy of TikTok, this time in the form of a WestJet flight attendant named Tricia and an aggressive passenger.
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TikTok user Charlet (@chihyechung) was the unfortunate recipient of this chaos, and she took to the platform to document her ordeal, which she described as “the most distressing, dehumanizing experience I’ve ever had on a plane.” It all kicked off when the passenger seated behind Charlet began “continuously hitting and pushing my seat for over 20 minutes.” When she looked back to see what the issue was, the passenger told Charlet to “F**K OFF,” at which point Tricia intervened.
See my full statement and account on my next post. This is @WestJet flight attendant Tricia. She and her crew threatened to offload and arrest me 3 times from the plane after I was cursed at by another passenger. What ensues for the next 4.5 hours was me being forced to move seats, then being isolated and harassed for the entire duration of this horrific flight. In almost 200 flights I’ve taken in the past 8 years, this Westjet crew and 2 passengers put me through the most distressing, dehumanizing experience I’ve ever had on a plane. This is the only footage I had because I was in fear. During the most aggressive moments, like when they were literally yelling at me, I was in shock and was too scared to film. What happened: During boarding, the man you see in the video was continuously hitting and pushing my seat for over 20 min. I’m in 1A and he is in 2A in back of me. I finally peeked between the seats to see what was going on but didn’t say a word and he spews out,“Oh just chill (then) FU*K OFF”. I responded by saying,“Excuse me? Did you just tell me to fu*k off?”Tricia comes over from the hallway to see what’s going on and I inform her about the man(thinking she would help me)Next thing I know, I’m being threatened to be offboarded and later, arrested. This was a 4.5hr flight of incessant abuse by the crew. The flight attendants’ relentless bullying was an agonizing experience. I was trapped. The most distressing part was not being able to stop them from talking to/harassing me while the passenger who verbally accosted me was free to do as he pleased and was fully protected. The panic attacks and flashbacks of feeling trapped and helpless on the plane and experiencing the PTSD from this aggressive crew and 2 passengers have not stopped. I have not been able to focus on anything since escaping this flight. @Westjet “Is this what you stand for?” Protect the man (who harassed me), put him on an untouchable pedestal then put me through a degrading, isolating experience for speaking up and asking for help as the victim? I will always stand up for myself (and others who may not have same voice I have) and I will not be silenced. Period. #westjet
Instead of remaining impartial, Charlet claims that the flight attendant “threatened” to offboard her from the plane and even get arrested. Charlet said the remainder of the 4.5 hour flight was torturous, as she was unable to stop both the flight attendant and her crew from “talking to/harassing me while the passenger who verbally accosted me was free to do as he pleased and was fully protected.”
The accompanying video provides more context around the situation, as Charlet is seen compliantly moving, in response to Tricia’s orders, and being told that she could be “offloaded.” Things deteriorate even further once Tricia spots that Charlet is filming, with the two seen exchanging words as the flight attendant refuses to be recorded. Tricia tells Charlet it was her who was cursing and not the other passenger, explaining that it is “illegal to be belligerent and unruly” on the plane.
This is the full footage I have of Tricia speaking to the couple privately for the first time – 32 minutes after she spoke to me publicly in front of the whole plane
Charlet asks repeatedly why “I am being blamed” for the situation and tells Tricia that her “bias is showing because this is discriminatory.” Charlet goes on to outline the double standard in how Tricia treated her and the other passenger, as the flight attendant grows increasingly angered by Charlet’s recording. By the end of the video, we see that Charlet is served papers by another flight attendant “explaining my potential arrest” upon landing.
While it’s unclear what exactly happened when Charlet landed at her destination, we do know that she lodged an official complaint with WestJet, which she shared in a follow-up TikTok video. Charlet also shared footage of Tricia talking much more calmly with the other passenger, as well as videos of the flight attendant not knowing the pilot’s name.
Please see my previous posts for video footage and official statement. This is at baggage claim #LAX I always travel with my convention banner which is always at the oversized luggage area. But for the FIRST time in over 60 work trips, I forgot my luggage (the banner) at the airport. I think it’s because the oversized area is in back of this couple so I was subconsciously too scared to go there because it would require me to walk past them. I was fully mentally intimidated. And to this day, I haven’t gone back for my banner @WestJet Video: this is 2A sitting near me while waiting for the restroom. You can see a flight attendant in the hallway – she was monitoring me. I was being watched like a hawk to make sure that I don’t say a word to him while we was free to do as he pleased. Meanwhile, I was prevented from going to the bathroom because I was being lectured. He was free while I had to appeal to Tricia to “please let me pee”. Fully degrading experience. The difference was stark. #westjet
Legions of viewers flocked to Charlet’s defence. “Your patience is something to be studied,” one user wrote in reference to Charlet’s continually calm demeanor, with another adding that the video “was so infuriating to watch.” Elsewhere, commenters took aim at Tricia, saying she has “the energy of an evil elementary school teacher,” and criticizing her for “not even listening” to Charlet’s concerns.
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Tom Disalvo is an entertainment news and freelance writer from Sydney, Australia. His hobbies include thinking what to answer whenever someone asks what his hobbies are.
Published: Nov 14, 2024 05:15 am