Pregnant woman says BA passenger threatened to punch her in the face, Offered Champagne as Apology
A pregnant woman has claimed she was assaulted by a fellow passenger on a flight from Amsterdam to London, only to be offered a bottle of champagne as an apology. Parul Patel, 35, who was 11 weeks pregnant at the time, alleges that she was shoved by a male passenger while waiting to disembark the plane.
Patel, a business analyst from Watford, Hertfordshire, said the man wrongly accused her of pushing in line and threatened her, saying: “Don’t think I won’t punch you in your f****** face.” Shocked and frightened, she approached a member of the British Airways cabin crew but was reportedly given a bottle of champagne instead of receiving proper assistance, told Somerset Live.
“I actually felt like this man was going to hurt me,” said Patel. “I felt I was made to be the bad guy, and now I feel fearful to confront anyone about anything.”
The incident occurred on August 19, when Patel and her partner, IT consultant Dhiren Raghvani, 32, were returning from a trip to visit a friend in Amsterdam. Patel said the male passenger pushed her aside and verbally assaulted her as she stood in the aisle, waiting to exit the plane. “I was in shock,” she said. “He continued to threaten me with abusive language.”
Despite reporting the incident, Patel felt her concerns were not taken seriously. A cabin crew member offered her the bottle of champagne, which Patel found inappropriate given the severity of the situation. “It would make sense if this was about bad customer service, but we were dealing with common assault,” she added.
Upon arrival at Heathrow Airport, Patel encountered the same man in the arrivals hall, where he allegedly began another tirade of verbal abuse. “He squared up to me, and cursed me and my unborn child. I was terrified,” she said. Despite the continued threats, Patel claims police told her they couldn’t take action, citing a lack of evidence.
Patel described the experience as demoralizing, saying, “It’s made me question my safety, especially as we hear so much about violence against women. I was the one being threatened and assaulted, yet I felt like I was made out to be the bad guy.”
British Airways responded, stating, “We do not tolerate any kind of abuse against our colleagues or customers. A member of our crew offered assistance, and the incident has been reported to the police.” The Metropolitan Police confirmed they investigated the incident but found no supporting evidence from witnesses to pursue further action.