Flying may be a difficult experience. At airports, you often get the impression that you are being hustled, and the process of going through security might take far longer than we would want. When there is a fight or other kind of incident going on during a flight, it may make an already tense situation much more uncomfortable. It would seem that there are an increasing number of incidents of drama and tough circumstances beginning on airplanes these days.
In most cases, flight attendants are kind and highly helpful to the passengers, but this was not the case with Ellen Flemming. Instead, she was rude and unhelpful to the passengers.
On a journey that she took with Air Canada in 2018, when she was traveling with her husband and her two grandkids, she was taken from the plane by security and escorted off the aircraft.
The argument began when Flemming requested that a flight attendant remove some damp rubbish that she discovered in the seat pocket. On the other hand, the flight attendant became quite angry and said that the passenger was not responsible for throwing away the waste.
Fleming made another effort to get rid of the trash by placing it on the food cart that was going by; however, the flight attendant whacked her arm, and the rubbish, which was moist, flew all over them. As a result of the physical assault, Fleming sustained several bruises.
After a few moments, the captain made an announcement that they were going to turn the aircraft back because there had been an incident aboard, which was ultimately determined to be Fleming’s problem. After the plane had landed, the law enforcement personnel helped Fleming exit the aircraft.
“At one point, I told them that they were taking the wrong person off, I said it took me that that the flight attendant because he lied,” Fleming’s husband defended her in an interview with Inside Edition. “At one point, I told them that they were taking the wrong person off,” he claimed.
In an interview with Global News Canada, a passenger who was on the same trip as Flemming provided corroboration for his account.
Helen Hollett used the words “irate” and “screaming” to describe the flight attendant she saw. “She just asked him to take the garbage and she was very nice about it and then he just, he got really mad,” Hollett said of the flight attendant.
The explanation that the flight attendant provided to her question about the reason why they were going to reverse the direction of the flight was not at all helpful.
“I said, ‘Well, if it’s because of the garbage, I’ll clean the garbage if you want me to,'” Hollett recalls responding at the time. “And he declined the offer. He said, “We’re going back for the safety of the passengers,” which translates to “We’re going to turn around.”
In the meanwhile, Air Canada remained steadfast in their support of the flight attendant’s account of the events, which Flemming had consistently disputed. According to what they said, Flemming “exhibited aggressive behavior toward a crewmember; threw garbage on the food trolley; kicked a crewmember when requested to wait until the member could come back and pick up the garbage as he was serving food.”
In an interview with Inside Edition, Fleming said that after receiving the letter, she broke down in tears because of the serious allegations.
People vented their frustrations over the flight attendant on social media. The flight attendant’s job description includes physically taking care of the passengers, which includes taking care of the garbage.
“We cannot allow this to stand. A senior citizen cannot be kicked off an airplane for respectfully requesting that another passenger throw away rubbish. “For that reason, she ought to file a lawsuit against that airline company,” one person stated.
Another person said that “getting trash from passengers is literally part of part of their job.”
“I have no trouble at all believing her! Someone else said, “He hates his job and felt insulted that this woman asked him to throw trash away so he retaliated.” “He felt insulted that this woman asked him to throw trash away.”
Another user added, “Imagine delaying a whole flight because you refused to do your job,” and it said, “Imagine delaying a whole entire flight.”