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Topics: Travel, US News, United Airlines, Plane Etiquette
A passenger has filed a lawsuit against a US airline alleging that he was pulled out the plane toilet for taking 'too long'.
On 28 January 2025, Orthodox Jewish traveller Yisroel Liebb had boarded a United Airlines flight from Tulum, Mexico, to Houston, Texas, alongside his friend Jacob Sebbag. Half an hour into the flight, Liebb got up to use the toilet at the back of the aircraft.
According to a copy of the complaint filed by the pair, a flight attendant would approach Sebbag around 20 minutes later and request that he checked on his friend as he'd been in the bathroom for a while. Sebbag complied with the request and checked on Liebb, who explained that he was suffering from 'constipation' and would be out of the bathroom 'shortly'.
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Sebbag relayed the response to the member of cabin crew before returning to his seat.
After Liebb remained in the bathroom for a further 10 minutes, Sebbag was then approached by the airline's pilot, who requested that he 'once again try and get Liebb out of the bathroom'.
The lawsuit then alleges that the pilot began to yell loudly at Liebb through the door, demanding that he exit bathroom immediately.
Liebb then responded by informing the pilot that he was 'okay' and would be out of the bathroom shortly. However, the pilot became 'enraged' and forced the door to the bathroom open and pulled the 20-year-old out 'with his pants still around his ankles, exposing his genitalia to Sebbag, several flight attendants, and the nearby passengers on the plane'.
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Sebbag and Liebb then claimed the pilot began pushing the pair back to their seats, while making derogatory comments about their Jewish faith.
Upon arriving in Houston, the pair were handcuffed and escorted off the flight by US Customs and Border Patrol Officers before being detained, meaning the pair subsequently missed their connecting flight to New York.
When asked by Liebb why they were being detained, one of the officers allegedly replied: "This isn’t county or state. We are homeland. You have no rights here."
The men would later be released and booked onto a flight to New York the following day at no extra cost, however, the pair highlighted that they were forced to pay for a hotel and food, which outweighed the cost of the flight.
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Both Liebb and Sebbag have since filed a lawsuit against United Airlines, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in a Manhattan court, seeking damages.
New Jersey resident Liebb added in the lawsuit that he felt 'sexually violated' from the incident after being 'embarrassed after having been publicly exposed in the nude'.
Responding to Fox News' request for comment, CBP Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs Hilton Beckham said: "CBP Officers responded to reports of a disturbance on a flight at the request of the airline. Due to the ongoing litigation, we are unable to provide any further comment."
LADbible Group has reached out to United Airlines, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation Security Administration and the attorney for the men for comment.