Etihad to fight lawsuit over ‘fat coughing passenger’
Etihad Airways has vowed to fight legal action by a passenger who claims he got a back injury after being forced to sit next to an obese man on a long-haul flight.
James Andres Bassos claims he had to twist and contort his body for long periods of the 14-hour flight from Sydney to Dubai because his overweight neighbour was coughing and had fluid spilling out of his mouth.
After more than five hours, cabin crew allowed him to change seats but he had to return to his original seat for the final 90 minutes of the flight for security reasons.
Bassos, 38, said the flight exacerbated an existing back condition and is seeking AU$227,000 (£106,000) in damages against Etihad in Queensland, Australia, for medical expenses and loss of earnings.
Etihad tried to have the case thrown out, arguing that it was not unusual to have overweight passengers taking up too much space, or passengers who coughed during a flight.
But this week the Brisbane court refused to strike the case and instead ordered Bassos to have a medical examination.
Etihad released a statement today saying: "It would be inappropriate to comment in detail on this case as legal proceedings are underway.
"Etihad Airways will continue to oppose the action and now that Mr Bassos will finally face a medical assessment in December 2015, as directed by court, we believe that the matter will proceed to an early conclusion.
"The safety and comfort of Etihad Airways’ passengers and crew is of paramount importance and the airline has a zero tolerance policy towards unruly behaviour."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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