A 24-year-old woman and her boyfriend were traveling in an Emirates flight to Dubai, where a flight attendant overheard her complaining about menstrual cramps. Both of them were removed from the flight.
According to the media, Beth Evans and her boyfriend, 26-year-old Joshua Moran, said a flight attendant overheard Evans' conversation and expressed concerns about her health - even though she said she rated her pain "1 out of 10." Just before the plane was scheduled to depart Birmingham, England, on Saturday afternoon, they said, they were booted from the flight, according to the Sun.
"To be kicked off for period pains, it was madness," Moran told the Sun after the incident. "Beth was in tears and getting upset when the hostess was asking her questions. It's embarrassing to have to explain about period pains when it's being overheard."
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Moran declined to be interviewed by The Washington Post.
Emirates said in a statement that Evans was "offloaded" because of "a medical emergency."
Beth Evans alerted the crew onboard about her discomfort, pain and told that she was feeling unwell. "The captain made the decision to request medical support and offload Ms. Evans, so she could access medical assistance as needed. The safety of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance, and we would not have wanted to endanger Ms. Evans by delaying medical help had she worsened during the seven-hour flight to Dubai.
Evans told the Sun that she would have been fine to take the six-and-a-half-hour trip, but she and Moran were forced to leave and pay $350 each to reschedule the trip.
There are several conditions mentioned on the airlines website where a passenger won't be permitted to fly , such as those suffering from communicable diseases, congestive cardiac failure or severe respiratory diseases, uncontrolled seizures or pregnancies past the 36th week. It does not period pain anywhere in the list.
First published: 21 February 2018, 15:11 IST