'Ladies ho, andar baith jao': Emirates passenger threatened by 'entitled' fellow passenger over aisle seat

In another rude passenger incident, a woman has opened up about an unpleasant experience she faced on an Emirates flight. Taking to Twitter she noted that on the flight a man reportedly kept forcing her to take the middle seat. The fellow passenger threw casual sexism and denied her to sit on the aisle seat, she claimed.

Upasana Sharma, an associate at an advisory firm, recalled the incident in a series of tweets as to how her co-passenger misbehaved with her.

“A man asked me to sit in the middle seat, though I had booked and paid for an aisle seat. When I said no, he said “aap ladies ho, aap andar baith jao”. Translating to because you are a woman you should sit inside. When I continued to refuse, he said “once I am drunk, then don’t blame me if I am on the middle seat”,” Sharma noted.

Adding on to the incident, she said, “While the crew didn’t understand, Everyone around me told them what he was saying. The @emirates staff first tried to tell me to keep sitting there, and when I loudly refused, they asked me to move right in front of the man who said “Don’t hold me accountable for my actions once I am drunk.” All because I wanted. To sit in my own seat that I had PAID for. That is the entitlement of Indian men. On @emirates end they told me they have filed a report and will be in touch, but I never heard from them. I also told them I want to file a formal report, and was told they will be in touch.”

Sharma recalled that even after all the drama, she was allotted another seat while the accused co-passenger was served drinks.

Sharma's story went viral and has over 3,000 likes along with 6 lakh views. It has been three weeks and Sharma is yet to hear from Emirates.

Upasana Sharma said that she was "anxious and terrified" to be flying Emirates again this week.

Reports of several rude passenger incidents have come to light since the Air India peegate scandal happened on November 26 last year, wherein a drunk man urinated on an elderly woman in the business class flight.

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