appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Associated Press

In yet another horror story about the state of US commercial aviation, a nurse from Kansas City says she was forced to urinate into a cup in her seat because she was not allowed to use the plane’s lavatory.
Nicole Harper posted her account early Saturday on Facebook after she became frustrated at her inability to get anyone at United Airlines to acknowledge her complaint, she said.
“United Airlines refuses to take my call, now I can’t sleep and just keep thinking about how wrong this is,” Harper wrote.
She encouraged her Facebook friends to share her story.
Harper said her experience happened the same day that 69-year-old Dr David Dao was injured while being dragged off a United flight that was overbooked. That incident happened April 9.
Harper said flight attendants would not allow her to get out of her seat and use the bathroom until the captain turned off the seat belt sign.
US airline staff and passengers brawl over cancelled flights
“After explaining that I have an overactive bladder and would either need to use the restroom or pee in a cup, I was handed a cup by flight attendants,” Harper said in her post.
“You would think peeing in a cup on an airplane in front of my family and strangers would be the worst part of this story. But the way I was treated by flight attendants afterwards was worse,” Harper wrote.
She said attendants “shamed her” by saying they would be filing a report and that she would have to speak to the pilot after landing. She said they also told her they would have to call a hazmat team to clean the row of seats where she had used the cup. Harper said there was no mess involved.
She said her subsequent efforts to reach the customer service department at United were unsuccessful.
“As an emergency room nurse I completely understand having a bad day on the job and having to deal with undesirable bodily fluids,” Harper wrote. “What I don’t understand is ZERO customer service. If I treated a patient this poorly I would surely have consequences.”
KCTV in Kansas City reported that United issued a statement in response to Harper’s allegations.
“Initial reports from our flight attendants indicate that Ms Harper attempted to visit the lavatory on final descent and was instructed to remain seated with the seat belt fastened per FAA regulations,” the statement said. “The situation described by Ms Harper and our employees is upsetting for all involved. We have reached out to Ms Harper and our flying partner Mesa Airlines to better understand what occurred.”
There have been a string of incidents recently that have underscored the frustrations of flying. Before the Dao incident, United barred female passengers from boarding a flight saying the leggings they were wearing were inappropriate dress. United has also been under fire after a metre-long rabbit died following a flight from London to Chicago.


United Airlines passenger told attendants she needed to urinate. They gave her a cup

United Airlines planes at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Photo: AP

News

World

United States & Canada