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Home » Law In Travel » Lawsuit Claims American Airlines Flight Attendant Locked “Terrorist” Mother And Baby In Lavatory
American AirlinesLaw In Travel

Lawsuit Claims American Airlines Flight Attendant Locked “Terrorist” Mother And Baby In Lavatory

Matthew Klint Posted onApril 24, 2023May 3, 2023 15 Comments

American Airlines Locked Mother Lavatory

An explosive lawsuit against American Airlines has been filed in New York, with a woman claiming a flight attendant locked her and her three-year-old son in a first class lavatory and then insinuated they were terrorists.

Lawsuit: American Airlines Locked Mother And Baby In First Class Lavatory, Accused Them Of Being Terrorists

The incident occurred on a flight from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to New York (JFK) in September 2022. Yasbleidy Giraldo, who goes by Yazz, was traveling with her husband, toddler son, and baby girl. Giraldo and the children were seated in the first row of economy class while her husband, Ali Moghaddam, was seated in the rear of the plane. Giraldo is a polyglot and was speaking Farsi to her chlidren, which she now claims made flight attendants suspicious.

According to the lawsuit, what unfolded is shocking:

  • Both children had to use the restroom
  • Seated in the first row of economy class, Giraldo proceeded toward the first class restroom
    • the lavatory policy on American Airlines permits the use of lavatories closest to your seat, regardless of cabin
    • other passengers from economy class had purportedly been using the first class restroom
  • A flight attendant turned them away from the first class lavatory and directed them toward the back of the plane
  • In the rear of the plane, another flight attendant confirmed Giraldo could have used any lavatory
  • Later on in the flight, her son had to use the restroom “urgently” so she proceeded to the first class lavatory
  • The same flight attendant tried to stop her, but she entered the lavatory and closed the door
  • Moments later, she heard a “click” and found the lavatory door locked

Giraldo explained her present sense impression of the incident:

“I freaked out. I was already under so much stress. … I started to panic, I banged on the door a few times and I said, ‘Let me out of here.’ She was punishing me for challenging her.”

The lawsuit may hinge on this, as I will reason below.

  • The same flight attendant reportedly “sneered through the door, ‘Oh, are you locked in, do you need someone to open the door ma’am?'”
  • Minutes later (it is not clear how much time transpired), Giraldo was let out with a rebuke from the flight attendant, “The pilot decided to put the plane under terrorist attack warning because of you.”
  • When Giraldo tried to explain herself, the flight attendant purportedly began to scream she was lying
  • Meanwhile Moghaddam was not even aware of what was going on with his family until the flight landed
  • Airport police met the flight at JFK and escorted the family off
  • Moghaddam requested immediately to be taken to the FBI airport substation, which instead just let to their release with only limited questioning and no charges
    • Moghaddam once worked for the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force
    • He told the New York Post, “I dedicated about a decade of my life to public service, to protecting the community. Joint Terrorism Task Force, undercover, S.W.A.T., all of this? For my family to be labeled as terrorist and be marched off a plane just because we want to change a diaper?”

Giraldo filed her lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleging religious and racial discrimination.

An American Airlines spokesperson did not wholly discount the lawsuit, offering a cautionary note:

“American strives to provide a positive and welcoming experience to everyone who travels with us and we take allegations of discrimination very seriously. We are reviewing the details of the lawsuit.”

My Thoughts On This Case

We’ve heard one side of the case and it is absolutely damning. While final judgement should be reserved until American Airlines has had a chance to respond, I still have a number of thoughts on the case.

First, I think a false imprisonment tort may be aded to this case. If you are not aware of how lavatories, work, they can be locked from the inside or the outside. On the outside, you can pull down the metal strip above the handle can then slide the lock in and out. Giraldo claims that she was unable to open the lavatory door. If so, that can only mean the flight attendant was actively holding it shut, which is far worse than simply locking it for her (if we were to give the flight attendant the benefit of the doubt). A lavatory can be locked from the outside, but it cannot be locked in the sense that the occupancy inside the lavatory cannot open it.

Then there is the Farsi aspect of this case. Giraldo believes she was targeted because the flight attendant heard her speaking Farsi (the predominant language in Iran). Per Giraldo, the flight attendant’s prejudice informed her treatment of them because other economy class passengers were allowed to use the first class lavatory without issue.

Third, I want to play out this case for a moment giving the flight attendant the total benefit of the doubt. Let’s just say that Giraldo was upset that she was denied the use of the first class lavatory (it must have been on her mind, because she did not just use the lavatory in the rear of the plane but brought up the first class lavatory to one of the flight attendants in the back). And let’s say that despite flight attendants warning (which were objectively unreasonable), she charged forward and used the first class lavatory. Thus, we can understand the fear of the flight attendant.

But fear that is not reasonable is not a valid defense. If the flight attendant was simply afraid of her due to prejudice against the “Arab” (Farsi is not Arabic) language, her genuine fear does not make this situation any less egregious. Based upon the way JFK-based flight attendants looked at me while taking pictures on my flight from Doha to New York last year, I was just so thankful that I was a white man because I strongly doubt it would have ended well had I been dark or spoken Arabic (remember, the purser told me how concerned they were about my picture taking, but no one said anything while I was doing it).

CONCLUSION

This will be an interesting case (if it makes it to trial, which I strongly doubt) and it does not look good for American Airlines. Even though we only have only one side of the case, I hope we can agree that a mother traveling with a toddler and baby who has gone through the same TSA security checkpoint as everyone else cannot be considered a threat because she speaks Farsi (same as true for a man traveling alone, for that matter). As for the nuances of this case, I suspect American will settle and we will never know, but would love to hear the flight attendant’s side of the story.


image: Yazz Giraldo / Facebook

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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15 Comments

  1. Cy Reply
    April 24, 2023 at 12:59 pm

    Matthew: you clearly realize that Arabic
    and Farsi are not the same thing (since you explicitly mention it) and you presumably also realize Persians aren’t Arabs. So, out of curiosity, why mention Arabic or “Arab” at all.

    Anyway, minor point.

    • Sfodtwflr Reply
      May 3, 2023 at 10:30 am

      Came here to post the same thing. WTF?!?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      May 3, 2023 at 10:36 am

      My point was that these naive and prejudicial folks hear “Farsi” and think “Arabic” even though the two are actually quite different. It’s like the ignoramuses who see a Sikh person and think “Muslim.”

  2. JoeMart Reply
    April 24, 2023 at 1:49 pm

    There’s no logical or legal reason to imprison a minor. If the adult was suspect,restraints could have been applied. The minor was the recipient of abuse and cruel punishment. The FA has to be fired and charged with criminal record including registered in child abuse Florida database.

  3. Too Many Reply
    April 24, 2023 at 2:21 pm

    The crux of the issue is a power tripping FA wanted extract punishment on a woman and child who were completely in their rights to use the forward lavatory.

    There’s good FAs, mediocre FAs, and bad FAs.

    If the events and actions as described hold true, this FA should be fired.

  4. Bader Reply
    April 24, 2023 at 5:33 pm

    What about the captain’s action ! How that was justified ? Lady with two children needed to use the toilet.
    American has an explanation to do.

  5. Onnie Reply
    April 24, 2023 at 5:37 pm

    Why would there be three clicks to lock the lavatory? The lavatory can be locked from the outside but the lock on the inside unlocks it. Why didn’t she lock the lavatory when she went in? I would have locked the door for the passenger if they didn’t lock it to help them out. During the service we will let people use the first class lavatories because they can’t get around the carts. We have them wait at the bulkhead in coach until the lab is empty. First class has first rights to use it but we usually won’t refuse it. We encourage passengers to use the lavs in their cabin because fist class has paid for that benefit. Did she try to go in while the flight attendant was trying to feed the flight deck or relieve the so that pilots could use them? That would be the only reason someone might think terrorist. Someone refusing to use the lavs and constantly trying to use the one in first class when the flight deck door needs to be open might seem suspicious.

  6. jm Reply
    April 24, 2023 at 7:40 pm

    I do not believe a word of this woman’s story. It’s clearly made up so she can feel like a victim, get social media attention and try to scam some money. She’s on a flight from Florida to New York and thinks anyone would even notice she isn’t speaking English? 90% of the passengers on the plane probably speak at least two languages if not more. She didn’t bother to lock the lavatory, but when it is locked, she freaks out instead of unlocking it like a normal person!?? The lights don’t turn on until you lock the door so the flight attendant was probably trying to help her to be able to see to change the baby’s diaper. She sounds like a racist con artist to me. The airline will probably settle the case and she’ll get rewarded for her lies and bigotry.

    • Queen DZ (The west is an evil empire) Reply
      April 25, 2023 at 10:47 am

      shut up we all know americans are all racist turds

    • vietri Reply
      April 25, 2023 at 4:29 pm

      I agree in theory as story seems unlikely. Probably another fake news concoction to continue the never ending drama and divide.

  7. Queen DZ (The west is an evil empire) Reply
    April 25, 2023 at 10:50 am

    Again, another instance of BLATANT RACISM from the usa … “land of the free” and “home of the brave” (tbh that is so LAUGHABLE). We all know who the real unethical terrorist here is and its america, not Iran and Persians, but rather the true terrorist is america. We all know americans are racist white shits and your mothers are all whore sluts. ameircans are all racist crappy pieces of sh*t turd i hate them.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      April 25, 2023 at 1:18 pm

      Nice emotional outburst. Feel better now?

    • Dot Reply
      May 23, 2023 at 8:29 am

      You & those who think like you about Americans, are wrong. Those eastern folks hate US.
      Stay where you were born & leave US Americans alone!

  8. 747always Reply
    April 25, 2023 at 11:31 pm

    Thank dog flight attendants aren’t allowed to carry guns, else she would have claimed a stand your ground law and shot the living daylight’s out of the family

  9. 757engineer Reply
    April 28, 2023 at 5:32 pm

    I agree with JM. She sounds like someone that’s annoying af. Probably very inconsiderate, really like to hear what the flight attendant had to say.

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