Placeholder Content Image

Mum “humiliated” and allegedly put on no-fly list over nappy change

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> A woman in the US has shared how she was “humiliated” by a flight attendant mid-flight while trying to discard her baby’s nappy in the rubbish.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Farah Naz Khan, an endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism doctor from Seattle, shared the ordeal on social media, including how she was yelled at by a flight attendant who was then “harassing” her in a call to her personal mobile number after the flight.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Anybody with connections at United Airlines? Had a horrific experience today with a flight attendant and then got a harassing phone call from the very same flight attendant,” Ms Khan wrote in a Facebook post, which she later edited to include the full story.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When I walked back to the front holding my diaper wipes container and ... the pad that we used to change my daughter’s diaper on, the flight attendant accosted me and said: ‘Did you just dispose of a diaper back there? That’s a biohazard’,” Ms Khan told </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/seattle-woman-humiliated-flight-attendant-over-dirty-diaper-says-she-n1273777" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">NBC News</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ms Khan said that she then asked whether he wanted her to retrieve the nappy and that the flight attendant said yes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ms Khan continued to say the experience made her feel “humiliated” and “belittled”. After asking another flight attendant for a garbage bag to put the nappy in, she became angry when the attendant told her she hadn’t done anything wrong. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After filing a customer service incident report once the plane landed, things took a bizarre turn.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Later in the day, Ms Khan received a phone call from the flight attendant.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I recognised the voice,” she told <em>NBC News</em>.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He said, ‘Due to a biohazard incident on the plane today, we’ve placed you on the no-fly list’.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This made me very angry, because I suffered the humiliating experience … They are placing me on a no-fly list?</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I also didn’t dispose of the diaper on the plane, even if it was considered a biohazard. I walked it off the plane and threw it away myself outside the flight.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She also accused the flight attendant of using “profanities” during the call.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“[He said] ‘You people bring your children everywhere. Don’t you know that some people just want a peaceful flight and don’t want to listen to your effing children?’,” Ms Khan said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He also allegedly said to her: “I hear your obnoxious daughter in the background.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ms Khan also shared her experience on Twitter, including the hashtag #racism.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She said she didn’t believe she had been placed on the no-fly list, after she was able to fly back to Houston a few days later.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ms Khan confirmed she had heard from United Airlines, which uses Mesa Airlines to run regional services, but the conversation was “unsatisfying” as the airline could not say how the flight attendant obtained her phone number or whether he had been disciplined.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a statement, a Mesa spokesperson said: “The details as described by our customer do not meet the high standards that Mesa sets for our flight attendants and we are reviewing the matter.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Facebook</span></em></p>

Travel Trouble

Placeholder Content Image

Men’s bathrooms to be fitted with baby changing stations

<p>A new law in the US has moved parents closer to equality when it comes to the restroom, with President Obama passing the Bathrooms Accessible in Every Situation Act (also known as the BABIES Act).</p> <p>The bill was introduced in April in the hope of making public federal buildings more reflective of modern parental roles and improving accessibility for dads looking after their babies. “Government needs to do more to ensure that public buildings are family-friendly,” Congressman David Cicilline said. “No mum or dad should ever have to worry about finding a safe, sanitary place to change their baby ― least of all in a federal building that’s paid for by taxpayers.</p> <p>“The BABIES Act is a common-sense proposal that makes government buildings more welcoming for families and helps promote good public health.”</p> <p>Not only has the act received backing from politicians, but celebrities and bloggers have also voiced their support. Actor Ashton Kutcher helped get the bill off the ground, launching an online petition after <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/ashton-kutcher-diaper-changing-tables_n_6838778" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">noting</span></strong></a> how few public men’s bathrooms had changing stations.</p> <p>Tell us in the comments below, do you think New Zealand should introduce a similar act?</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/10/never-throw-clothes-in-the-rubbish/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Scary reason we should never throw old clothes in the rubbish</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/10/the-basic-spelling-test-everyone-is-failing/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The basic spelling test everyone is failing</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/10/maximum-human-lifespan-has-been-revealed/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Maximum human lifespan has been revealed</strong></em></span></a></p>

News

Our Partners