A Georgia father is suing Delta Air Lines, alleging that a flight attendant slapped him in the face during an on-flight altercation last month.
Mohammad Shibli was on a Delta flight from Atlanta to Fresno, California with his wife and two young children on July 29. When flight attendants began making their typical rounds, one of them refused to serve his wife, Shibli said in a press conference alongside his legal team Wednesday.
After Shibli said he went to the back of the plane to request water, the same crew member refused him service and exhibited a “disrespectful tone” with him.
Eventually, Shibli says he got water from another flight attendant, but the situation was not resolved.
Shibli says things turned physical
Later in the flight, the original flight attendant made another set of rounds, during which she asked Shibli if he wanted water. When the Palestinian American said no and asked to be left alone, things escalated.
“She then asked if I wanted the police to meet me at the gate, insinuating that she was going to have me arrested. I asked her, ‘For what?’ She just ignored me and continued her service,” Shibli said, via the New York Post.
“As she walked back and forth to serve other passengers, she bumped into me with her body. I tried to ignore it, but the passenger in my row, whom I had never met before, could tell that the Delta attendant was provoking me.”
Shibli alleges that the flight worker whispered a slur in his ear, which led to him rising from his seat to confront her. At that time, the attendant moved toward Shibli and struck him with her “open palm as hard as she could.”
‘Painful and embarrassing’
Shibli said the entire “painful and embarrassing” incident left him feeling “humiliated” and worrying “the safety and security for myself and for my family.”
According to his lawyer, Ali Awad, Shibli wore a t-shirt on the flight that read “Palestine,” adding that he believes it was the impetus for the flight attendant’s behavior.
“Every Delta employee in the company must get education and sensitivity training on Palestine,” Awad said. “Delta ruined my client’s day, and Delta, we demand a day of your profits.”
Delta itself has issued a brief statement on the matter, saying that the flight attendant has been suspended as the company probes what happened.
“While Delta does not comment on internal investigations or pending litigation, we are taking this situation very seriously,” the statement reads. “This flight attendant has been suspended while the investigation is ongoing.”
