Woman sues Delta over midflight sexual assault

In the wake of the #MeToo movement and the numerous charges against high-profile men and women globally, it seems it’s now more important than ever to support victims and make changes.

Sadly, changes are usually made after the abuse has taken place.

Such is the case for Allison Dvaladze, who, while travelling on a Delta flight from Seattle to Amsterdam, was groped by the stranger sitting next to her.

Dvaladze reported that when she fell asleep, she was repeatedly groped all over her body, even after she had yelled at him to stop.

Dvaladze then sought help from the cabin crew.

According to News.com Dvaladze said that while the crew was “sympathetic”, but little was done in the way of helping her.

“They were trying to be supportive, but it was obvious they had no clear guidelines.”

“They wanted me to tell them. They asked me, ‘What do you want to do?’,” she said.

To complicate the matter, the man sitting next to her was not in his assigned seat, making it incredibly difficult to identify the offender.

Dvaladze has filed a lawsuit against the airline for their poor handling of the situation and is campaigning for harsher penalties to perpetrators and better assistance for other victims from the cabin crew.

“It was totally, completely shocking to have that happen,” she said.

“I’ve travelled for years. I never heard of this and never thought about it … I couldn’t sleep the rest of the flight. I just wanted off the plane.”

As per News.com, Dvaladze’s lawyer Nate Bingham called international air travel a “high-risk situation”, given passengers spend hours sleeping next to strangers.

“After it happened to her, Allison did more research,” Bingham said.

“Sex harassment on commercial flights is a disturbingly pervasive issue.”

“As common carriers, airlines have a responsibility to protect their passengers.”

US Congress recently introduced a bill which ensures airlines are to provide adequate training to cabin crew on how to properly handle situations of sexual assault.

However, when Dvaladze complained to the airline, she was simply offered 100,000 SkyMiles as a “small token in hopes of easing some of the frustration and inconvenience you may have felt”.

Speaking to The Seattle Times on the matter, Delta said: “We continue to be disheartened by the events Dvaladze’s described … We take all accounts of sexual assault very seriously and conduct routine reviews of our processes.”

Dvaladze’s lawsuit is filed under ‘treaty governing international flights’, under which airlines are liable for passenger losses and injuries, and are fined up to $US150,000 ($A193,000).

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

airline delta fines sexual assault