Model Juliana Nehme had been on a family holiday to Lebanon, when she was refused board by Qatar. Photo / Instagram; juliananehme
Model Juliana Nehme had been on a family holiday to Lebanon, when she was refused board by Qatar. Photo / Instagram; juliananehme
A Brazilian woman says her airline refused her boarding and demanded she pay for an upgrade, because she was “too fat”.
Influencer Juliana Nehme, 38, was reportedly told to shell out $4800 or miss her flight, as she could not fit into her seat in economy.
Now Nehme is accusing Qatar Airways of discrimination.
The model took to Instagram on Thursday to tell her 168k followers of her shocking experience trying to fly home from a family holiday in Lebanon. Nehme had been trying to return home with her mother, sister and nephew but said she was singled out by the carrier for this humiliating reason.
“I WASN’T WELCOME TO BOARD BECAUSE I’M FAT,” she wrote to her followers.
In an impassioned social media post she called out the Qatari carrier.
“Shame on a company like Qatar to allow this type of discrimination to people! I’m FAT But I’m JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! It’s not fair to let me buy my ticket and be HUMILIATED, THREATENED AND BLOCKED FROM FLYING!”
This weekend Qatar Airways said that the passenger had been extremely aggressive towards staff members and that airport security had to be involved, twice, to calm her down.
The carrier told Fox News that there had been further issues with the traveller’s Covid-19 documentation.
“The passenger in question at Beirut Airport was initially extremely rude and aggressive to check-in staff when one of her travelling party did not produce required PCR documentation for entry to Brazil,” read an emailed statement to Fox News.
The airline said their process for booking oversized passengers was the same as most other carriers.
“Qatar Airways treats all passengers with respect and dignity and in line with industry practices and similar to most airlines, anyone who impedes upon the space of a fellow traveller and cannot secure their seatbelt or lower their armrests may be required to purchase an additional seat both as a safety precaution and for the comfort and safety of all passengers.”
The carrier said Nehme and her mother were rebooked onto a later flight out of Beirut. It was not clear if she was required to pay for an upgraded fare.
Qatar Airways will be flying up to 500 daily 'Matchday' flights during the Fifa Football world cup. Photo / Arkin Si, Unsplash
Air fair? A guide to plus-sized passenger seating
The standard width of an economy seat tends to be between 43 to 46 centimetres wide. Unfortunately for some passengers this is not enough.
Some airlines, particularly domestic US carriers, will not charge “passengers of weight” for an additional seat. Other airlines will require plus-sized passengers to buy an additional, adjoining seat as policy. Although some carriers, like Air France and KLM will offer a 25 per cent discount on additional seating - providing they are booked in advance. Air France will also reimburse this cost, if there are unsold seats on the service.
Most airlines will “highly recommend” passengers needing extra room. Hawaiian airlines says they will try to accommodate passengers but “if no safe alternative seating can be found, we may not be able to transport you on your ticketed flight.”
Air New Zealand sells a ‘twin seat’ upgrade for $29 a leg to allow “Economy passengers to enjoy extra room inflight”, subject to availability.
The New Zealand airline says that they aim to accommodate all passengers with “comfort and with dignity”, but if travellers have concerns about seating they should tell the airline as soon as possible.
“We strongly recommend that you provide us with advance notice of any special travel and seating requirements that you may need,” says the airline’s special assistance guidelines.
