A businessman from Durban got the short end of the stick when the man and woman sitting next to him turned out to be a ‘plane sex couple‘.
The man, who asked not to be named, feels that FlySafair didn’t take his complaint seriously enough.
On Monday, he flew from Johannesburg to Durban at 16:25. He was in the aisle seat in row 16 when the woman sitting next to him reached over to touch her partner’s crotch, and began engaging in ‘plane sex’.
“In short, the woman next to me was doing a handjob on the man while we were on the runway waiting to take off. I couldn’t leave my seat because it wasn’t safe to do so. I had to listen to them laugh and kiss for about five minutes, knowing what was going on. This kept happening as the plane took off… I felt sick.”
Plane sex act was recorded
The man recorded the event to show the crew what happened.
“As soon as we could get up, I jumped out of my seat and ran to the back to tell the flight attendants and show them the videos I had taken to prove it was happening.”
The man followed up by sending an email to FlySafair to complain.
“I’m shocked that a situation like that could have so little effect on the people involved. Surely, people’s actions in South Africa’s skies have consequences?” He wrote it.
He wrote, “That’s all that happened to the couple.”
“I’m shocked and mad that nothing else happened.
“I thought they would keep the passengers on the plane after landing or call the SAPS when the passengers got off, but nothing like that happened. They could go wherever they wanted like any other passenger. This event has left me with [psychological] scars.”
The man also said that there were a lot of schoolchildren on the plane, and he was mostly worried about what would happen if a child was in his seat.
Advocate Chris Christodoulou, who is head of the aviation and commercial department at the law firm Christodoulou & Mavrikis Inc, said that the couple had done something very wrong.
Christodoulou said that the pilot could set up an arrest when the plane lands, or he or she can land at the nearest airport and have the couple arrested there, for engaging in plane sex. In this case, the couple might have to pay for the stop.
“It’s a serious crime, and if someone confronts the couple, there could be a fight on board, which could put other people in danger.”
Kirby Gordon, a representative for FlySafair, called the passenger who had complained and then gave a follow-up answer to the reporter.
He said that the couple can’t fly with their airline anymore.
He agreed with Christodoulou and said that the captain could “certainly take the call to divert or have SAPS at arrival if they believe that safety is in question, and they will often lay charges, but the choice and impact of doing so is very much up to them, as it will be here for [the businessman].”
According to the law, he said that the man had to file a criminal charge, but “I am ready to support his case with all the information they need as soon as they ask me for it.”
Gordon said that plane sex on planes was rare and that “people are generally very good on planes.”
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The businessman from Durban said he didn’t think it was his job to file the charge, but he would do it if the airline promised to follow up.
“I’m supposed to go to the police station and file a case against people who don’t have names or ID numbers. The airline doesn’t care about anything. I think they could be a little bit more responsible. It’s just a disgusting thing to do.
“If I smoked on a plane, I would be arrested and the plane would be grounded. This was way worse than smoking.”
