Passenger Alleges Harassment and Racial Animus After Lavatory Confrontation
Ali Warisuzzaman, 79, has filed a federal lawsuit accusing American Airlines and several crew members of publicly harassing him during an Oct. 3 flight from Philadelphia to Phoenix. The complaint, filed Nov. 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, says Warisuzzaman — who identifies as Indian American and has been a U.S. citizen for four decades — was seated near the rear of the aircraft when the incident occurred.
According to the complaint, Warisuzzaman was initially skipped during beverage service and says a flight attendant then gave him repeated "dirty looks" after he asked why he had been ignored. Roughly an hour into the flight, he walked to the rear lavatory, which he says was about two feet from his seat.
"Are you smoking?" the complaint says someone demanded after loudly banging on the lavatory door.
Warisuzzaman alleges he told the crew member he did not smoke. He claims the attendant then opened the locked lavatory door and peeped inside while he was seated on the toilet. He further alleges a third flight attendant and another person who appeared to be a crew member also opened the door. The complaint states, "If the aircraft is equipped with audio-visual cameras, one would see that in a matter of one minute, a crew member violently banged and opened [the] lavatory door at least five times. Maybe six or seven times."
Warisuzzaman says the cabin returned to normal after he exited the lavatory, but he believes the crew used the incident as a pretext to "harass and humiliate the plaintiff stemming from their racial animus." Upon arrival in Phoenix, he alleges he was met by seven to ten heavily armed police officers; he was briefly questioned and released without charges.
The lawsuit names American Airlines, two flight attendants and the captain and asserts eight counts, including violations of equal rights, alleged breaches of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and defamation. Warisuzzaman is seeking no less than $1 million in damages to be determined at trial. The article reporting the incident notes that neither Warisuzzaman nor a representative for American Airlines immediately responded to requests for comment.
Commercial aircraft lavatories are equipped with smoke-detection systems designed to alert crew to smoking or vaping, and the Federal Aviation Administration prohibits smoking — including electronic cigarettes — on board. The complaint alleges no smoking device was produced and no charge was filed after the plane landed.
Source: Reporting by PEOPLE, court complaint filed Nov. 10.
