A man who sat next to an overweight passenger on a 13 hour flight is suing an airline after claiming the experience left him with a back injury.
James Bassos claims he was sat next to a “very large” man on an Etihad Airways flight from Sydney to Dubai in 2011 and said he had to “contort and twist” his body to avoid contact with him.
Court papers filed to the District Court of Queensland, Australia, on July 29, alleged the large passenger had encroached upon Mr Bassos’ seat and “frequently coughed and expelled fluid from his mouth”.
The papers add that Mr Bassos, who is claiming damages for personal injury, was given limited access to a crew seat “after repeated requests” but still had to spend long periods of time in a position which, he claims, “caused a back injury and aggravation of an existing back condition”.
The airline allegedly tried to have the case dismissed, arguing it is not unusual to be sat next to “obese or coughing passengers”, according to reports by the Australian Associated Press.
But Judge Fleur Kingham refused to strike out the claim and said she was not satisfied “Mr Bassos had no real prospects of success and that there is no need for a trial of the claim. Accordingly, Eithad’s application must fail”.
Mr Bassos was ordered by the judge to undergo a medical examination in Brisbane in December this year.
An Etihad Airways spokesman said: "It would be inappropriate to comment in detail on this case as legal proceedings are under way.
"Etihad Airways will continue to oppose the action and now that Mr Bassos will finally face a medical assessment in December 2015, as directed by court, we believe that the matter will proceed to an early conclusion.
"The safety and comfort of Etihad Airways' passengers and crew is of paramount importance and the airline has a zero tolerance policy towards unruly behaviour."
