A woman is calling out United Airlines after she says they were essentially useless during a moment of distress on a recent flight.
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According to a report from NBC News, a 25-year-old woman, who has chosen to keep her identity private, says that the incident occurred during a red-eye flight from Rochester, N.Y., to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on September 3.
Passenger Recalls Being Forced to Sit Through Lewd Act on United Flight
She says that while seated on the flight, a male passenger began to pleasure himself. Even more bizarre, upon alerting the flight crew, she was forced to continue to sit next to him.
In a sit-down interview with NBC News on Tuesday (September 22), the woman described the male passenger as a middle-aged man who looked "pretty normal looking" and "unassuming."
She also said that she could tell that this was not the male passenger's first time committing the lewd act.
"I just got the sense [he] had done it before ... People don't just do those things at 6 am," she said in a statement to the outlet.
The complaining passenger says that she immediately notified the airline staff of what the male passenger appeared to be doing. She thoroughly explained her discomfort.
Passenger Says Flight Crew Was of Little Help
As for the flight crew's alleged response? The passenger claims that they told her that she had to go back and sit next to the man. Because the flight was fully booked. She continued to protest that she was uncomfortable doing so. Still, she was ordered back to her seat for the remainder of the descent and landing. And to make matters worse, she was seated toward the back of the charter. Which meant she had to wait even longer to deplane.
The passenger says that once they arrived, she immediately reached out to United's front desk agent. But they were also of very little help.
She alleges that a gate agent she contacted responded by asking her, "What am I supposed to do about it?'" She also reached out to a rep via email. Their response was only to acknowledge how "upsetting and uncomfortable" her experience was. In addition to a $100 flight credit.
A rep for the airline told PEOPLE that they are "looking into" the incident. But did not have anything further to add.
