A BLACK passenger has accused a white woman of refusing to let her sit next to her on a flight.
Tiarra was travelling with Spirit Airlines from Las Vegas to Chicago when the other woman, who was white, said she would not let her sit down next to her.
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Tiarra wrote on Facebook: “I board the Chicago flight and the open seat they gave me was next to a Russian woman, who refused to let me sit by her.
“Like refuses it to the point that she is arguing with the flight attendant about how she is not going to let me sit by her.”
While Tiarra admitted she was lucky enough that other people on the plane switched with her so she wouldn’t have to sit with the woman, she said she was “upset by the incident”.
Tiarra added: “Luckily there were other (white) people on the plane who chose to switch seats with me so I wouldn’t have to sit by her which she happily allowed.
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“I have never experienced this before. I’m so upset that I couldn’t lay hands on this lady.”
Despite feeling “embarrassed and heartbroken,” she thanked the other passengers who helped her during the four hour flight, who “rallied around her”.
She added in another Facebook post that the passenger said she took issue with Tiarra because she thought the seat next to her “was going to be empty” – although was fine with a “white college student” sitting next to her.
Tiarra wrote: “Immediately after we landed she rushed off requesting a supervisor to complain to because the passenger were booing her and calling her a racist.
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“She said her not letting me sit down had nothing to do with me being black but simply because she thought the seat was going to be empty.”
Tiarra explained that it wasn’t that she couldn’t sit down that was the main issue, but that Spirit Airlines flight crew “should have made [the woman] move”.
She said: “The attendants thanked me multiple times for being a team player.
“I said why do I have to be a team player to someone who is obviously putting her racist cards on the table.
“Them allowing her to block the seat should have been enough for them to escort her off the plane.”
She later said it was one of the “worst experiences” she has ever been through.
Other social media users were stunned by the incident, with one person commenting: “I would have sat down irrelevant!! So so sorry this has happened to you.”
Another remarked: “I am so sorry you had to experience this! People are disgusting.”
A Spirit Airlines spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: “We have launched an investigation into this incident and we have reached out directly to the guest to address her concerns.
“Spirit Airlines has zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind on our flights and we pride ourselves on providing an inclusive and safe environment for our Guests.”
Earlier this year, a 15-year-old girl was kicked off a Spirit Airlines plane as it was overbooked – while her mum sat on the flight unaware until halfway through the journey.
Another Spirit Airlines passenger was caught on camera “twerking and flashing her bum” after being told to turn off her phone.
