TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- After news broke that a portly American passenger who forced EVA Air flight attendants to engage in humiliating acts had somehow booked a new flight through Taiwan for May, an employee has stepped forward to say that the man slipped past the blacklist because of a system snafu.
On Jan. 19, an American man who is estimated to weigh 200 kilograms, boarded an EVA Air flight by wheelchair and insisted that a female flight attendant help him lower his underwear and wipe his buttocks while sitting on a toilet. The flight attendant was deeply traumatized by the incident and shared her frustrations about the episode on Facebook, before speaking to the press on Jan. 21.
On Jan. 26, it was reported that despite the traumatic episode, the repugnant rider was able to book yet another ticket on EVA Air for May, horrifying the airline's flight attendants. Later that day, an EVA employee, who spoke to SETN on condition of anonymity, revealed that the man indeed was on the blacklist, however when he booked his new ticket, his name did not raise any flags in the system because there was an extra blank space in his name.
The flight attendant was quoted by SETN as saying the following:
"The assistant said that in fact, the passenger had already been blacklisted after they received a report from the Chief Cabin Officer from the previous flight, but there was a mistake in the system. The supervisor confessed that there was an error because there was a blank space in the passenger's name."
The flight attendant went on to say, "The man is classified as BIP8, which means he cannot take care of himself. He has to provide a medical certificate and must have a nurse to accompany him on the plane."
When asked to comment on the passenger's new flight in May, EVA Air refused to provide details and only said that it was not at the liberty of disclosing the details of his itinerary.
The man's leaked itinerary includes EVA Air Flight BR212, which departs from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) at 12:20 on May 17 and arrives at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) at 5 p.m. Next, he is slated to board Flight BR12 at 7 p.m. and arrive in Los Angeles (LAX) airport at 4 p.m.
