A flight attendant is speaking out about an experience onboard a recent flight from LAX to Taiwan that she says left her traumatized.
A passenger demanded that she and several other members of the all-female flight crew help him remove his underwear and wipe his bottom after he was done using the restroom, according to Emily Kuo, 31.
Kuo said via a FaceTime interview from Taiwan Thursday, she has been a flight attendant with EVA Air for nine years and loves her job. But this experience left her in tears, she said.
The incident occurred on a Saturday morning flight from Los Angeles to Taiwan, Kuo confirmed.
Upon boarding, the unidentified passenger, who she described as a heavy-set man, asked to move to a row with three empty seats. That, she says, was only the beginning.
The man told her he had surgery on his right hand and that he needed help going to the restroom. Kuo stated she would assist him to the bathroom.
About two and a half hours into the flight, the passenger told Kuo he needed to use the lavatory.
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After about thirty seconds inside the restroom, Kuo said the passenger pressed the assistance button and he said, "I need help getting my underwear off."
Kuo said she grabbed a blanket to cover the man because his frontal area was already exposed.
At that point, the man angrily slapped her hand away, according to Kuo.
"I don't need this, just come here and take off my pants," Kuo said the man told her.
Despite feeling very uneasy, Kuo said she and other crew members obliged.
After the man finished relieving himself, he told Kuo to wipe his bottom for him.
“Do you guys have baby wipes?” Kuo said the man asked, to which she replied. “We don’t have baby wipes, we have wet towels, but please clean by yourself.”
Kuo said the man got angry and insisted that he was promised the help.
“I can’t! You promised me you would do that for me!” Kuo said the man yelled.
Kuo says she never made that promise.
The man was insistent, so Kuo helped hold the man up while her co-worker did what he demanded.
"I think this kind of thing is way out of my duty," Kuo said.
Kuo wants EVA Air to make changes. She explained this passenger should not be allowed to board any flights unless he has a caregiver with him.
Kuo said she does not want to see the passenger ever again.
EVA Air issued a statement Monday via a Chinese social media site Weibo.com, saying protecting its employees is their duty. The company called the passenger's request unreasonable.The airline said its policy is clear: its flight attendants are not required to provide assistance to passengers going to the toilet, or who need special medical care.
A spokesperson added Thursday, EVA Air is in the process of investigating the incident.
