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Flight attendant blocks man from using bathroom - has him arrested
We've probably all heard the stern warning at the start of our flight telling us to use the bathroom in our own cabin. The separation of the classes means only business class passengers are allowed to use the business class bathroom, and coach passengers need to use the smelly porta-potty in the rear of the plane.
But what do you do when you really have to go? Like after a meal you had in Honduras that isn't sitting too well with you?
This is the dilemma faced by Joao Correa on his Delta Airlines flight back home last week.
The coach bathroom was blocked by a drinks cart, and when he politely asked a flight attendant if he could use the front bathroom, he was told "no".
He tried to hold "it" in, but when things got too much, he sprinted up front and attempted to enter the bathroom. It was at this point when the flight attendant/bathroom cop stuck her arm in front of him and blocked the door.
The rest of the story has become part of a federal investigation, Mr Correa claims the flight attendant put her hand on his shoulder, and that he grabbed her arm to keep his balance, her side of the story claims he pushed her arm down and twisted it.
The flight attendant then called the pilot, who probably rolled his eyes and told her to let Mr. Correo just use the bathroom. He then returned to his seat and was quiet for the rest of the flight.
Upon landing at Atlanta airport, he was arrested and locked up for 2 nights before appearing before a judge.
Mr. Correa says he is "devastated' by the whole incident, and I can't blame him, it's one thing to keep your plane secure and prevent people from walking into the wrong cabin, but when the other bathrooms are clearly blocked, and one of your passengers really has to go, you just let him go.
To actually put your arm in front of the bathroom door and block a passenger is pathetic, and I hope Delta Airlines realizes this. That said, if Mr. Correa really did injure the flight attendant, he should face the charges, but I'd say that 2 nights in jail is about the extent of what he should be punished with.
What do you think?
| Yes, keep the unwashed masses away from the business class bathroom | |
|---|---|
| Yes, let him poop in his pants, her job is to protect the bathroom | |
| No, the rule is clear, but exceptions should be made |
Filed under: Airlines
Reader Comments (Page 11 of 11)
bc Apr 9th 2009 2:08PM
american airlines hostesses were giant & ugly & they glare at you for getting up to stretch by your seat. they let some phillippino/vietnamese looking people sleep in empty seats & won't let an old lady wearing handicapped sticker sleep - they should police the plane - only those who look like they need it can get to the resources/seats. the flight was from honolulu & one of them use coconut perfume & stink up the whole plane - can't escape or breathe. perfume should be ban in places you can't escape & in restaurants. these people should be objective & impersonal - often they'll pick or favor some passengers. hostesses, police, doctors, vetarinarians, nurses, waiters ... should just be those & not judges.
HOLDiNiTiN Apr 9th 2009 1:53PM
I would have just let it go - attendand have to clean it up -
Jan Apr 9th 2009 1:53PM
Back in the 70's my husband, baby and I took a flight from Washington to Houston. Before take-off we secured the baby in a car seat which we had buckled to the airplane seat between us. The stewardess demanded that we take the baby out of the seat and hold him in our arms for take-off and landing. She said it was airline policy and nothing we said about safety bore any impact on her.
Diana Apr 9th 2009 2:01PM
Are you kidding me... What is happening to this country???? I will NOT be flying Delta ... and I will be turning in my sky miles... The flight attendant was WRONG !!!!
Mike Apr 9th 2009 2:10PM
This is what happens when people in low level jobs get some semblance of authority. Give a monkey a fork and a knife and soon he'll be at your table demanding fois gras. In large bureaucratic companies, there is too much bureaucracy to keep track of everyone and job security is so easily attained that it is easy to fall below an acceptable standard. This attendant ought to remember that if this guy had pooped his pants in-flight, she'd be the peasant responsible for cleaning it up. Plus he'd probably sue her. Good job Delta!
Michael JL Apr 14th 2009 5:27PM
This is what happens when people in low level jobs get some semblance of authority. Give a monkey a fork and a knife and soon he'll be at your table demanding fois gras. In large bureaucratic companies, there is too much bureaucracy to keep track of everyone and job security is so easily attained that it is easy to fall below an acceptable standard. This attendant ought to remember that if this guy had pooped his pants in-flight, she'd be the peasant responsible for cleaning it up. Plus he'd probably sue her. Good job Delta!
Sal Apr 9th 2009 2:49PM
When I was in grade school ,one day while in gym class and I had just eaten lunch ,So,I am sitting on the gym's cold hardwood floor,and everyone is talking and disrupting the class. She wasn't in a good mood, so she was telling the kids to put their hands down, as they were trying to get get her attention, unfortunately for me , I had to go to the restroom right then,and said,loud enough for my nearby classmates to hear that I had to go to the restroom,and they suggested I just ask to go to the restroom. The teacher wasn't taking any requests,for anything,no one was allowed to raise their hand for any reason so, there I was trying to prevent going,and increasingly realizing that I'm unable to prevent it. The next thing you know I'm mumbling to myself,oh oh I'm going to go.I realized just then that I couldn't get up without going right then and there ,on the gym floor.Sure enough I couldn't hold it anymore,and heard some girls scream as urine flowed ,and when the gym teacher realized what had happened she, was so irritated,she yelled at me to hurry up and go to the restroom,of course it was already too late,and when I got to the restroom,I had much more urine to release ,the volume of which surprised even me.It was like I had a gigantic bladder, my body was trying to tell me something ,It was like I was taking a diuretic,and I never knew anything about diuretics at the time.Spent the rest of the day in the school office,smelling of urine ,humiliated for the rest of the school day.
OIL's WELL THAT ENDS WELL ! LOL!
The Riftalope Apr 9th 2009 4:50PM
I would have no problem dropping trow in the lane.
I'd been having trouble from an injury a few years back. One symptom was a hard to hold bladder. I woke up near the end of a four hour flight and as soon as I opened my seatbelt the pilot called the landing. After waiting the half hour to land AND taxi off the landing strip I couldn't hold. I bolted into the restroom, hand going into my pants at the door, hearing the attendant. I said, "I Gotta Go NOW!" and didn't bother to lock the door. This was 2004 and they'd just started the "plane must stop if anyone gets up when taxiing" policy. When I got out I just told them it was that or somebody would get washed.
RTT Apr 9th 2009 2:58PM
i fly first class and the very last thing i want is some low life regular class slob sticnking up and pissing all over my restroom...good job flight attendent!!!!! you need a raise!!!!
Squiggles Apr 9th 2009 3:05PM
First of all, who do flight attendants think they are? Basically they are waiters/waitresses who happen to be on an airplane, nothing more.
Second, you buy a ticket for a seat, not a bathroom. Even if they expect people to use the bathrooms in the part of the airplane they're sitting in, human decency should dictate that any passenger can use any bathroom when the need arises.
Third: don't put YOUR arm in the way of somebody and then complain that it's twisted!
Really, it's crazy these days, with airplanes wanting more money for tickets yet giving horrendous service. I don't like flying anymore.
wfg Apr 9th 2009 4:02PM
Growing up in Atlanta, I used to date a lot of cute flight attendents, but out of maybe ever (10) 2 were bright enough to drive a car. Now on the TSA, they don't pick the top in their class at Harvard, we are still in danger, mainly from their decisions. The chance of catching a bad buy is 1 in 20. I live in Seattle, go to Sea-Tac and it looks like 20% of everyone there is TSA, they seem to enjoy each others company and conversations.
Gloria Stroud Apr 12th 2009 5:39AM
If this is concerning passenger's safety, then this should be "rethought. Just because a person is in coach does not mean that he or she is not honest and just "need to go". The terrorist have enough money to go in the business class or the first class, which is next to the cockpit!!!! Never judge a "book by it's cover"! What would have happened on the flight in 2001 if the people had not been all over the airplane, and had been congregated in one place? It would have been disaterous for all, as these people gave their lives for our country!!!!
DPirate Apr 15th 2009 12:23PM
I cant remember the airline, but years ago I had a seat in front of a little boy that would not stop kicking my seat. It was maddening. His mother just threw up her hands, effectively stating that she couldn't do anything about it. As time wore on, rebuffed in my attempts to get help from the stewardesses such as a seat change in any form, including switching woth the boy's mother, having stood for most of the flight, when the stewardesses insisted that I sit down and "behave myself" I suppose due to the fasten seatbelt sign coming on, I refused.
They told me to behave because I ended up swearing at and shaming the young mother as much as possible, both to express my anger and disgust and in hope she would give the kid a beating in the bathroom or something.
It ended when the marshal switched seats with me, though he kept mumbling about how annoying it was to have his seat kicked for the last half-hour of the flight, lol.
Luckily, when the boarding flight checkin people began to hassle me when boarding m,y connection, one of the stewardesses not directly involved with my sailor's charm stood up for me and said how basically restrained I had kept myself. I can only think that she had shared the experience at some point and gave me credit for throwing the mom and son off the plane at 30,000 feet.
bob Apr 21st 2009 3:23AM
This is insane! In an emergency you have to give credence to someone crying for help. It's the stewardess who should have been put in jail for two days, and the company needs to be sued for assault on this person perpetrated by their agent, the flight attendant; and the cops need to be reprimanded for extremely poor judgement. When a person contracts traveler's diarrhea, or Salmonella, or any other explosive type of diarrhea, they can't hold it: it will come out. This sounds like the Gulag, or Abu Ghraib, kind'a like water-boarding: to comply with an arbitrary rule the flight attendant gets to torture somebody? This person acted in the most reasonable way he could, the only other choice would have been to defecate in the aisle, and of course he would have then spent even more time in jail or the psych ward for that. If anyone doubts the veracity of this person, let them be induced with an infectious case of explosive diarrhea and then told to stand and wait- in a crowded room and we'll all watch and see how they handle it! I think this case needs to be followed up Mr Carmichael: lets be sure the cruel, assaultive flight attendant gets what she deserves, the airline gets reprimanded and compensates their customer for their abusive treatment and the police/court system acknowledges their role in the torture of this person.
STOCKTON, CA. May 23rd 2009 1:30PM
I have diabetes and when my blood sugars are elevated (even slightly) my bladder becomes very weak. A few years ago I was visiting downtown, a place that is almost void of access to a public bathroom. I needed to go really really bad! I entered 3 or 4 different establishments, explained my health problem and was turned away every single time! By the time I did find a baber shop owner who was sympathetic (bless his heart) , my bladder had had enough and I lost control! Right there on the sidewalk! In front of his barber shop door. I was stripped of all dignity and highly embarrassed. I completly understand this mans urgency and I do not think he was intending to harm the snotty little (overprotective of he bathroom) flight attendant. But you reap what you sow. Someday she might be in a similar situation. Lets just pray she is not at the mercy of anyone who has read this article.
jeets Jun 13th 2009 2:39AM
To Ellen - Don't get mad at Ralph and gal pal. I've gone in there during a really bad movie and whacked-off to relieve the boredom. Isn't that one reason for which it was intended? I say either use is OK.