A WestJet passenger says she experienced “incessant abuse and harassment” from the airline’s crew that has left her suffering from panic attacks.
Charlet Chung documented the incident on her recent flight from Winnipeg back home to Los Angeles. The footage she shared on TikTok over the weekend has gone viral, amassing over four million views.
“In almost 200 flights I’ve taken [in the] past eight years, this WestJet crew and two passengers put me through the most distressing, dehumanizing experience I’ve ever had on a plane,” reads a statement she shared on Instagram.
The inciting incident
Chung says it all started during the boarding process when the passenger sitting behind her began hitting and pushing her seat continuously for over 20 minutes.
“I was patient throughout the entire time, but after everybody was seated and safety procedures were demonstrated by the flight attendant, I took a peek between the seats to see if I was dealing with a child or an adult,” she recounted in a subsequent video on Instagram, explaining the events.
The L.A.-based actor says that despite not saying a word when she turned around, the passenger behind her immediately expressed anger.
“Oh, just chill out, f**k off,” she recalled him saying.
Chung says she responded by saying, “Excuse me? Did you just tell me to f**k off?” which then caught the attention of a flight attendant.
The actor says she was relieved that a flight attendant showed up at that moment so she could reach out for help. Chung explained the situation to the crew member, but the passenger behind her denied swearing or kicking her seat, according to Chung.
Unfortunately, Chung felt the flight attendant took the man’s side of the story.
“What ensues after that is four and a half hours of just pure emotional and mental torture at the hands of the WestJet crew,” she wrote on Instagram.
According to the actor, the crew member said, “Do we have a problem here? Do we need to open the gate?”
When Chung reiterated how she didn’t appreciate being cursed at by the man sitting behind her, the flight attendant allegedly got short with her and told her to move to another seat across the aisle.
The traveller claims the flight attendant got upset when she declined the offer to move seats and exclaimed, “That’s it! I’m asking you to move, and you’re not moving, so I’m calling the captain to get you off the plane.”
“I realized that this was not a safe situation for me, and I have children to get back home to after a long work trip, and so I just decided to be quiet and comply,” Chung explained in the Instagram Reel.
Back-and-forth between Chung and the WestJet flight attendant
Chung says she heard the flight attendant on the phone with the captain call her a “problem” that needed to be deboarded from the plane.
In the TikTok, the flight attendant, who says her name is Tricia, says she doesn’t want Chung to say “f**k” again. The passenger says she only used the word to reiterate what the man behind her had said in the initial incident.
“We could offload you if you’re going to keep saying those words,” the crew member can be seen saying in the TikTok.
“Are you going to offer him the same situation?” asks Chung.
“Well, he seems to be compliant right now. I didn’t hear anything,” the flight attendant replied.
@chihyechung See my full statement and account on my next post. This is @WestJet flight attendant Tricia. She and her crew threatened to offload and arrest me 3 times from the plane after I was cursed at by another passenger. What ensues for the next 4.5 hours was me being forced to move seats, then being isolated and harassed for the entire duration of this horrific flight. In almost 200 flights I’ve taken in the past 8 years, this Westjet crew and 2 passengers put me through the most distressing, dehumanizing experience I’ve ever had on a plane. This is the only footage I had because I was in fear. During the most aggressive moments, like when they were literally yelling at me, I was in shock and was too scared to film. What happened: During boarding, the man you see in the video was continuously hitting and pushing my seat for over 20 min. I’m in 1A and he is in 2A in back of me. I finally peeked between the seats to see what was going on but didn’t say a word and he spews out,“Oh just chill (then) FU*K OFF”. I responded by saying,“Excuse me? Did you just tell me to fu*k off?”Tricia comes over from the hallway to see what’s going on and I inform her about the man(thinking she would help me)Next thing I know, I’m being threatened to be offboarded and later, arrested. This was a 4.5hr flight of incessant abuse by the crew. The flight attendants’ relentless bullying was an agonizing experience. I was trapped. The most distressing part was not being able to stop them from talking to/harassing me while the passenger who verbally accosted me was free to do as he pleased and was fully protected. The panic attacks and flashbacks of feeling trapped and helpless on the plane and experiencing the PTSD from this aggressive crew and 2 passengers have not stopped. I have not been able to focus on anything since escaping this flight. @Westjet “Is this what you stand for?” Protect the man (who harassed me), put him on an untouchable pedestal then put me through a degrading, isolating experience for speaking up and asking for help as the victim? I will always stand up for myself (and others who may not have same voice I have) and I will not be silenced. Period. #westjet ♬ original sound – Charlet
Chung describes the flight attendant speaking with the man and his wife as looking like she was checking in on them in a “friendly manner.” She says she overheard the crew member apologize to the couple.
The back-and-forth continued, with the WestJet flight attendant insisting that Chung was being “belligerent and unruly.”
“Why is it that I’m being blamed? He was kicking and pushing my chair. I look back honestly, not mad, just to see what was happening, and he told me to ‘f**k off,'” Chung replies. “I think your bias is showing. This is discriminatory because there’s nothing I’ve done outside of I was looking to you for help.”
Chung claims that for the remainder of the trip, the WestJet crew were “incessant” in deeming her as a threat, “isolating” and “harassing” her for the rest of the flight.
For example, the actor says other flight attendants began speaking to her “rudely” when they were serving food. She also claims that the crew “kept tabs” on her and that she could hear them snickering and making snide remarks about her.
The TikTok ends with Chung being given a notice explaining her potential arrest on the grounds of “verbal abuse” and “recordings.”
In an email statement on Tuesday, WestJet said they recently learned about a situation involving a guest and one of its flight attendants. It did not directly address Chung’s incident.
“The safety and well-being of our guests and crew are always our top priority, and we have begun the process of engaging with internal teams to obtain more information,” stated the spokesperson.
“WestJet, you’ve got to do better”
Chung says she’s sharing her story for anyone else who has experienced “micro and macro aggressions.”
“I want you to know that you’re not alone,” she explained in an Instagram Reel.
“We are either silenced or feel that we don’t want to make a fuss, and especially for Asians and women in general, there’s a stereotype that we will not speak up for ourselves and that we are weak and meek, and that’s just categorically false.”
The actor added that she has not fully recovered from the experience and has been going to therapy because she has panic attacks just thinking about the incident. Thousands of people have replied to her posts to share their support.
“This was so infuriating to watch. I hope you get the justice you deserve,” reads one comment on TikTok.
“Shame on you, WestJet… this is absolutely unacceptable,” another person commented on Instagram.
Chung said over direct messages on Tuesday that she has not received word from the airline.
“WestJet, you’ve got to do better,” the actor concluded in her Reel.