Army veteran and another woman sue Frontier Airlines saying they were groped on flights

A US Army veteran and another woman from Colorado have filed a federal class action lawsuit against Frontier Airlines, alleging that they were groped on two separate flights out of Denver last year and then had their claims brushed off by cabin crew. 

The 22-page complaint filed in US District Court in Colorado on behalf of plaintiffs Lena Ramsay and Jane Doe accuses the airline of failing to prevent, report and respond to sexual assaults of passengers.

According to the lawsuit, Ramsay, an Army veteran, was on a red-eye flight from Denver to Providence, Rhode Island, on October 20, 2018, when she was groped by a male passenger sitting behind her.

Ramsay was assaulted in October 2018

Lena Ramsay, a US Army veteran from Denver, has filed a class action lawsuit against Frontier Airlines, accusing the company of failing to prevent and report her in-flight groping 

The lawsuit claims when Ramsay reported being sexually assaulted to a Frontier flight attendant, she was told to return to her seat (stock image)

The lawsuit claims when Ramsay reported being sexually assaulted to a Frontier flight attendant, she was told to return to her seat (stock image) 

Ramsay immediately got up and went to report the assault, only to have a flight attendant refuse to let her switch seats away from her alleged assailant, according to the lawsuit.

The court filing further states that the flight attendant did not report the assault to anyone else and did not contact law enforcement officials on the ground in Providence to meet the plane upon landing.  

According to the lawsuit, Frontier would not turn over evidence to Ramsay concerning her assault, or even provide the name of the alleged attacker and those of possible witnesses.

Ramsay and her attorney, Tyler Fox, later contacted the FBI in connection to the in-flight incident, but no criminal charges were ever filed.

‘I did what a paid passenger is supposed to do by reporting the incident immediately to the flight attendant,’ Ramsay said in a statement released through New York’s Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, which is one of the law firms handling the lawsuit. ‘I was victimized again by the lack of actions of the company.’ 

Ramsay broke her silence and went public with her allegations for the first time just weeks after the incident, and then again in January 2019, when she and her attorney appeared on NBC Nightly News.   

Ramsay and a second plaintiff known only as Jane Doe accuse the airline of failing to prevent, report and properly respond to in-flight sexual assaults

Ramsay says the airline refused to tell hr the name of her attacker

Ramsay (left and right) as a second plaintiff known only as Jane Doe accuse the airline of failing to prevent, report and properly respond to in-flight sexual assaults 

The other plaintiff in the class action lawsuit, identified in court documents only by the pseudonym ‘Jane Doe,’ was on board a Frontier flight from Denver to Florida on November 30, 2018, when she was sexually assaulted by a male passenger.

Like in Ramsay’s case, the woman immediately reported the incident to a flight  attendant, who also allegedly failed to alert anyone else to the situation, or contact police in Florida.

Doe stated: ‘An airline flight should never turn into a sexual assault to a passenger regardless of age or gender. I hope to create positive changes for the airline industry from this negative experience to help prevent further assaults from happening.’

The issue of in-flight sexual assaults is not new: in June 2018, the FBI issued a warning that the number of such incidents reported during commercial flights has been increasing ‘at an alarming rate.’

The federal agency said at the time its investigations into in-flight sex assaults jumped 66 per cent between 2014 and 2017.

Most of these crimes occur on long-haul flights when the cabin is dark, the FBI reported. The victims are usually in middle or window seats sleeping, and covered with a blanket or a jacket. They report being awakened by their seatmate’s hands inside their clothing or underwear.

The complaint argues that Frontier, like all other airlines, has a duty to protect its passengers from sexual assault, and to respond properly when in-flight sexual assaults do occur.

The lawsuit states claims for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and willful and wanton misconduct.

Ramsay and the other plaintiff want Frontier to impose a lifetime ban on passengers who commit sexual assault on flights

Ramsay and the other plaintiff want Frontier to impose a lifetime ban on passengers who commit sexual assault on flights

Beside seeking damages from the airline, Ramsay and her fellow plaintiff want Frontier to put in place and enforce a uniform policy for how to respond to in-flight sexual assaults, and design a centralized system tracking all reports of in-flight sexual assaults. 

The women also demand that Frontier impose a lifetime ban on passengers who commit sex crimes on flights. 

Frontier Airlines said it cannot comment on pending litigation, but issued a statement saying: ‘The safety of our passengers and crew members is our number one priority at Frontier Airlines and we have strict policies in place to proactively and appropriately respond to reports of misconduct and alleged crimes.’ 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk