Qatar Airways is responding after a plus-size model said she was not allowed to board a flight because she was too fat to fit in an economy seat.
Juliana Nehme claimed that the airline had told her to shell out about $3,000 to upgrade to first class and would not refund the $947 she had spent on the flight from Beirut, Lebanon to Doha, Qatar.
She shared her experience in Instagram videos, which have more than 60,000 likes, with commenters calling out Qatar Airways and asking them to take action.
I bought a return ticket through Qatar and arrived in the time to check in, a Qatari flight attendant called my mother while another staffer was checking in and told her I wasn't welcome to board because I'm fat, according to News.com. She told her followers that she had missed her connecting flight to S o Paulo due to the incident, saying that she had previously had no issues boarding an Air France flight and that she had been threatened when trying to take a video.
Au said she was 38, had been extremely aggressive with staff members and had to be called over twice to calm her down.
They said she had been scaring both workers and passengers who had been checking in.
The airline said in an emailed statement that Qatar Airways treats passengers with respect and dignity, in line with industry practices and similar to most airlines, anyone who can't secure their seatbelt or lower their armrests may be required to purchase an additional seat, as a safety precaution and for the comfort and safety of all passengers. One of the passengers in question at Beirut Airport was extremely rude and aggressive to check-in staff when one of her traveling party did not produce required PCR documentation for entry to Brazil. Security at the airport was requested to intervene because staff and passengers were extremely concerned with her behavior, it concluded.
Qatar Airways said Nehme was rebooked on a flight from Lebanon.
It was not clear whether she had to pay for an upgrade to be allowed to fly.