EXCLUSIVE: ‘I will sue!’ Pregnant woman kicked off EasyJet along with her disabled child, her husband and all the other passengers after row with air hostess is planning legal action against the airline – and vows to never fly again
- Siobhan Foster, 34, says she is preparing to take legal action against EasyJet
A pregnant mother who was kicked off an EasyJet flight with her family after a row with cabin crew is planning to sue the airline for emotional distress.
Siobhan Foster, 34, and her relatives were thrown off a flight from Belfast to Ibiza after she was branded ‘abusive’ by a ‘grumpy’ air hostess on August 19.
Beautician Mrs Foster says she was ‘singled out’ when she asked about overhead lockers.
However, EasyJet say her group were ‘behaving disruptively’, something she denies.
She and her party were told they would not be flying from Belfast that day – meaning they had to spend £1,500 flying from Dublin the next day in order to make it to her brother’s wedding.
But there Mrs Foster suffered pains in her stomach brought on by all off the stress, which marred the day and left her concerned for her unborn baby.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline she said: ‘I have spoken to a solicitor about what happened to us.
‘I have got a view to sue them for emotional distress. I don’t know the amount yet I will be seeking from them.
‘The baby is due in five weeks and after all this that’s happened I don’t think I will ever step on a plane again.
Beautician Siobhan Foster says she was ‘singled out’ when she asked about overhead lockers – EasyJet say her group were ‘behaving disruptively’, something she denies.
Mrs Foster and construction worker husband James, 30, and their disabled daughter were removed
‘At the wedding I was in a lot of pain in my stomach afterwards because of all the stress. I was obviously worried about the baby.’
EasyJet removes ‘ALL passengers off flight to Ibiza’ in huge row after pregnant woman was accused by hostess of being ‘abusive’ and was then ejected along with her disabled child and her husband
Mrs Foster and construction worker husband James, 30, and their disabled daughter Florence were taken off the flight after the row unfolded on August 19.
She explained that they were seated in the ‘first seats’ after having paid for extra leg room in a bid to make her journey more comfortable as she was pregnant.
‘This particular flight attendant had such a grumpy look on her face,’ she recalled. ‘James sat down with Florence and I asked her was there any more space in the overhead lockers, her reply was a sharp “Clearly Not”.
The heavily pregnant mother says she asked the air hostess if she could help her find a place for her luggage but was instead told: ‘You’ll need to find somewhere yourself.’
She then found a place for her bag, put it in the overhead bin and sat down, Ms Foster recalls. She said the crew then came over towards her ‘saying I was being aggressive’.
Ms Foster, alleging there was ‘literally nowhere’ to place her bag, claims she then said: ‘Can you please help me I’m heavily pregnant and my husband has our daughter.’
Siobhan Foster has claimed that she and her husband James were thrown off an EasyJet flight from Belfast to Ibiza
A video shows passengers leaving the EasyJet flight following the alleged incident
She says the stewardess’ response was: ‘You’re being abusive and it’s not my job to help you.’
‘Then another air hostess – an older lady – approached me to say, “Look this isn’t our job to help” so I said any other airline I’ve flown with have been more than helpful with me as I’m pregnant etc,’ Mrs Foster recalled.
The plane was then emptied of passengers as they were all removed, although most were eventually allowed back on. It is not clear why they were all removed.
Video footage shared on social media apparently shows a trail of them collecting luggage and bags on the runway.
Siobhan Foster and her husband James are pictured together
The EasyJet plane which Ms Foster claims she was kicked off after a row with an air hostess
The video shows passengers leaving the EasyJet flight following the alleged altercation
EasyJet denied any wrongdoing and insists they are not to blame. A spokesperson said that staff took action due to a ‘group of passengers behaving disruptively at check-in and then onboard’, before adding that the airline does not ‘tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour towards our crew or other passengers’.
Video shows a member of the wedding party, who is filming the alleged incident, saying to the staff: ‘Everybody’s seen it. The whole plane.’
The pilot can be seen standing in the doorway as someone repeats: ‘Walk off.’
Mrs Foster and her party were then escorted from the airport by sheepish-looking police.
The party then had to get a bus to Dublin to pick up flights the next day to get them to the wedding at a cost of £1,500.
But she told MailOnline that after having to fly out to the wedding with Ryanair, she actually came back on an EasyJet flight.
She relayed: ‘I was actually frightened because I wondered if they were going to stop me.
‘But they were absolutely fine and there were no problems whatsoever.’
Passengers were allegedly forced to wait hours after the apparent incident
EasyJet said the passengers had been ‘behaving disruptively at check-in and then onboard’
Mrs Foster, pictured with her husband, said: ‘I’m so traumatised to the point I don’t know how I’ll ever fly again. Every person on that plane is putting complaints in – some actually stood up on the plane to say to the pilot it was that air hostess who was being aggressive towards me, not me at all’
An EasyJet spokesman told MailOnline: ‘We can confirm that flight EZY3003 from Belfast to Ibiza on 19th August was attended by police before departure due to a group of passenger behaving disruptively at check in and then onboard.
‘easyJet’s cabin crew and ground agents are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time.
‘The Captain took the decision to ask all passengers on the flight to return to the terminal so the situation could be resolved and as soon as it was they reboarded and the aircraft continued to Ibiza.
‘Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour towards our crew or other passengers. We would like to apologise to the other passengers for any inconvenience for the delay this caused.
‘The safety and wellbeing of our passengers, crew and ground agents is always easyJet’s priority.’
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