A woman’s disturbing story about her United Airlines flight is sparking justifiable outrage for the way the airline handled a situation with an alleged pervert.
The woman on a flight from Rochester, New York, to Newark Liberty International Airport on September 3 said she noticed that the “pretty normal looking” and “unassuming” man sitting next to her near the back of the plane was allegedly masturbating.
“I just got the sense [he] had done it before,” she told NBC. “People don’t just do those things at 6 a.m.”
After alerting flight staff of the situation, the woman was reportedly allowed to stand away from her seat for about an hour.
A 25-year-old United Airlines passenger says she was forced to sit next to a man who pleasured himself while staring at her during a flight ahead of Labor Day weekend. https://t.co/qMHqCIKNiK
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 22, 2026
But things took a turn for the worse when the woman was reportedly ordered to return to her seat — next to the alleged creep — as the plane prepared to land.
When she finally reached the gate, she was allegedly brushed off by a United employee after reporting the incident.
“What am I supposed to do about it?” she was allegedly told, and the perp was allowed to walk off.
United Airlines’ response after the woman contacted the FBI and filed complaints with United and the FAA wasn’t much better.
“I can imagine how upsetting and uncomfortable it must have been to experience behavior from another passenger that caused you concern, particularly while seated in a location where you felt concerned,” a representative for the airline said.
The woman shot back at United’s statement.
“I DID remove myself and ask for help,” the woman told NBC. “Additionally, framing public masturbation as ‘behavior that caused me concern’ implies that what occurred could somehow be perceived as acceptable.”
“It is the first time I’ve been purposely trapped by people who were supposed to be helping me,” she said.
X users were outraged by the woman’s story:
Stop using sanitised language. He didn’t ‘pleasure himself’, he masturbated in public and by extension committed sexual harassment/assault
— VelliJanta (@VelliJanta9211) September 23, 2026
Where were the alpha males to protect this woman? Why didn’t one of them switch seats with her?
I would’ve filmed him and narrated it live at the top of my lungs. Words like shrinkage, microscopic, and impotent would’ve been used as well as “what website can I upload this to?”
—
Renee
(@nay731) September 22, 2026
Making jokes about this is disgusting. This is not funny! This is sexual assault! The fact that it was committed blatantly, in front of staff and nothing was done is unacceptable. Staff that saw him doing this and didn’t put a stop to it immediately should lose their job +!
— Lea T (@slttwo) September 23, 2026
she should have ordered HOT coffee
— Photographic Voyages (@torpedo_guido) September 22, 2026
