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People are spamming WestJet’s social media accounts, demanding the airline apologize to a passenger who said she was harassed by crew members.
Charlet Chung said she experienced “incessant abuse and harassment” from the airline’s crew that left her suffering from panic attacks.
The L.A.-based actor documented the incident on a flight from Winnipeg back home to Los Angeles. The footage she shared on TikTok in early November has gone viral, amassing over eight million views.
“In almost 200 flights I’ve taken [in the] past eight years, this WestJet crew and two passengers put me through the most distressing, dehumanizing experience I’ve ever had on a plane,” reads a statement she shared on Instagram.
@chihyechung See my full statement and account on my next post. This is @WestJet flight attendant Tricia. She and her crew threatened to offload and arrest me 3 times from the plane after I was cursed at by another passenger. What ensues for the next 4.5 hours was me being forced to move seats, then being isolated and harassed for the entire duration of this horrific flight. In almost 200 flights I’ve taken in the past 8 years, this Westjet crew and 2 passengers put me through the most distressing, dehumanizing experience I’ve ever had on a plane. This is the only footage I had because I was in fear. During the most aggressive moments, like when they were literally yelling at me, I was in shock and was too scared to film. What happened: During boarding, the man you see in the video was continuously hitting and pushing my seat for over 20 min. I’m in 1A and he is in 2A in back of me. I finally peeked between the seats to see what was going on but didn’t say a word and he spews out,“Oh just chill (then) FU*K OFF”. I responded by saying,“Excuse me? Did you just tell me to fu*k off?”Tricia comes over from the hallway to see what’s going on and I inform her about the man(thinking she would help me)Next thing I know, I’m being threatened to be offboarded and later, arrested. This was a 4.5hr flight of incessant abuse by the crew. The flight attendants’ relentless bullying was an agonizing experience. I was trapped. The most distressing part was not being able to stop them from talking to/harassing me while the passenger who verbally accosted me was free to do as he pleased and was fully protected. The panic attacks and flashbacks of feeling trapped and helpless on the plane and experiencing the PTSD from this aggressive crew and 2 passengers have not stopped. I have not been able to focus on anything since escaping this flight. @Westjet “Is this what you stand for?” Protect the man (who harassed me), put him on an untouchable pedestal then put me through a degrading, isolating experience for speaking up and asking for help as the victim? I will always stand up for myself (and others who may not have same voice I have) and I will not be silenced. Period. #westjet ♬ original sound – Charlet
After days of putting the carrier on blast online — even receiving a repost from comedian and The Daily Show correspondent Ronny Chieng — Chung shared on November 20 that the company had finally reached out to her.
“No responsibility was taken,” reads the Instagram story. “They refuse to right this wrong. Instead, it appears the information I shared was not enough to warrant an apology.”
She said they instead asked her to contact their “social care team” with her concerns.
“To make me further prove anything when I have already provided footage, a full written statement and an oral testimony is adding insult to injury… As if trying to heal from this traumatizing experience isn’t hard enough. I’m at a loss for words,” she stated.
Chung said over direct message on Thursday that she is awaiting a further response from WestJet. She said it still hasn’t issued a formal apology to her.
Recap of the incident
The actor said it all started during the boarding process when the passenger sitting behind her began hitting and pushing her seat continuously for over 20 minutes.
Despite not saying a word when she turned around to check if an adult or a child was kicking her seat, Chung said the passenger behind her immediately expressed anger.
“Oh, just chill out, f**k off,” she recalled him saying.
The passenger said she was relieved that a flight attendant showed up at that moment so she could reach out for help. She explained the situation to the crew member, but the passenger behind her denied swearing or kicking her seat, according to Chung.
Unfortunately, she felt the flight attendant took the man’s side of the story.
“What ensues after that is four and a half hours of just pure emotional and mental torture at the hands of the WestJet crew,” she wrote on Instagram.
In the TikTok video, you can see the actor mainly communicating with a flight attendant who says her name is Tricia. The crew member insisted that Chung was being “belligerent and unruly.”
Chung claims that for the remainder of the trip, the other WestJet crew were “incessant” in deeming her as a threat, “isolating” and “harassing” her for the rest of the flight.
For example, the actor said other flight attendants began speaking to her “rudely” when they were serving food.
She also claims that the crew “kept tabs” on her and that she could hear them snickering and making snide remarks about her.
The TikTok ends with Chung being given a notice explaining her potential arrest on the grounds of “verbal abuse” and “recordings.”
In an email statement on November 12, WestJet said they had just learned about a situation involving a guest and one of its flight attendants. It did not directly address Chung’s incident.
“The safety and well-being of our guests and crew are always our top priority, and we have begun the process of engaging with internal teams to obtain more information,” stated the spokesperson.
WestJet social media backlash
Since the actor shared her story online, the internet has defended her in the airline’s social media comment section.
Under recent Instagram posts, people have been demanding an apology from WestJet on behalf of Chung.
“It costs $0.00 to apologize to Charlet Chung,” reads one comment.
“Any tips about publicly apologizing to Charlet Chung?” added another.
Many are also urging the company to take accountability.
“It would be a real Christmas miracle if you could actually take accountability,” one person commented.
“Take accountability and stop avoiding the issue,” reads another comment. “All you’re doing is hurting your business.”
WestJet said on Thursday that nothing has changed since its initial statement. Chung is not commenting on questions about potential legal action.
