Ryanair, a low-cost Irish airline company, is under fire after allowing a white male passenger to racially berate and insult an elderly Black woman. Mrs. Gayle endured hellish insults from the unidentified man until she was forced to move from her seat next to him with the flight proceeding as planned without intervention from the airline.
HuffPost UK writes:
In the shocking video, captured by fellow passenger David Lawrence, a man can be heard referring to Mrs Gayle, a 77-year-old pensioner from East London, as an “ugly black bastard”. He appears to be refusing to sit next to her and threatening to “push” her if she does not sit elsewhere.
The video begins with a noisy row over seating, in which Mrs Gayle’s daughter can be seen arguing loudly with the man. Moments later, when the elderly woman speaks with a Jamaican accent, the man replies “don’t talk to me in a fucking foreign language, you stupid, ugly cow.”
Eventually, Mrs Gayle is seen asking to be moved, while the man remains in his seat. He can then be heard telling the flight attendant, “I’m alright, now she’s gone.” Passengers can be seen intervening, with one asking for the elderly man to be taken off the flight.
The incident took place just before the flight – FR9015 – was scheduled to leave from Barcelona for London Stansted on Friday afternoon. Ryanair have now said the incident has been reported to Essex police.
Mrs. Gayle relocated to the United Kingdom in the 1960s with her late husband in an attempt to make a life with her family. Gayle’s daughter says the incident is troubling her mother on top of dealing with the sadness of losing her husband of over five decades a year ago. Ryanair said it has reported the video to Essex police and an official statement on the matter has yet to be produced.
Watch the video of the incident below. A Warning: some of the language used may be offensive and triggering to some.
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Photo: Getty