77-year-old woman subjected to racist abuse on Ryanair flight speaks out: 'I feel very low'
A black woman who was subjected to racist abuse by a fellow passenger on a Ryanair flight said the attack has left her unable to eat or sleep.
Delsie Gayle, 77, spoke to ITV News after a video of a man calling her an “ugly black bαstαrd” and “stupid ugly cow” went viral. “I was shocked. Nobody ever said those words to me,” she said. “I travel a lot, I go to Canada, and no one has ever said those words to me.”
Following the incident, Gayle, who has arthritis, says she is feeling “very low. He paid a fare to go on holiday, I’ve paid mine, so why does he abuse me for that due to the color of my skin?”
The airline reportedly hasn’t contacted Gayle in the three days following the outburst.
The episode was recorded on Oct. 19 on Ryanair Flight FR015 from Barcelona to London by fellow flier David Lawrence, who uploaded it to social media.
Footage shows the man, who was recently identified by police, shouting at Gayle to move seats while her daughter tries to stand up to him, telling him her mother is disabled. He replies: “I don’t care whether she’s f***ing disabled or not — if I tell her to get out she gets out.” The man continues to yell expletives and instructs staff to move the woman to another seat, adding: “If you don’t go to another seat I’ll push you to another seat.”
Gayle’s daughter, who was treating her to a trip to Barcelona on the one-year anniversary of her husband’s passing, told ITV, “On the plane it was unprofessional, and after it was unprofessional. It’s all wrong, I just believe they need more training.”
In the wake of the viral video, Ryanair says it will prohibit misbehaving passengers. “We will be taking this matter further, and disruptive or abusive behavior like this will result in passengers being banned from travel,” the airline told the BBC.
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