‘Unacceptable’: Content Creator Goes Viral After Seatmate Allegedly Points Knife At Her On Flight
Travel content creator Jamia Scranton recently garnered millions of views on social media following a 14-hour ordeal she experienced on a Qatar Airways flight late last year, and she’s now speaking out.
In an interview with Travel Noire, Scranton detailed the harrowing travel experience that took place on November 18, 2024, and shared why she decided to publicize it now. Scranton claims that on a flight from Doha, Qatar to New York City, an older woman invaded her personal space, assaulted her, and at one point pointed a knife in her direction “in a threatening manner.”
The Southern California native has lived in Brooklyn, New York, for about five years now. A seasoned traveler — claiming to have visited around 30 countries thus far — Scranton is the co-owner of Curate Life, LLC, a travel company that specializes in international group trips.
Scranton explained that she usually doesn’t fly in economy, but booked her Doha-to–New York City airfare last-minute, leaving her no options in business or first class.
During the flight, Scranton was in the window seat, and the older woman was beside her in the row’s middle seat while a male passenger occupied the aisle seat. According to Scranton, the male passenger eventually moved to an open seat on the plane. Still, Scranton says the extra space didn’t stop the woman from encroaching on her personal space. Despite multiple requests for the woman to respect her boundaries and alerting flight attendants, Scranton asserts that throughout the 14-hour flight, Qatar Airways’ cabin crew didn’t adequately address the situation with her elderly seatmate.
“I’m sitting next to the elderly lady; this should be a very smooth flight. Nothing should go on,” Scranton recalls of her thoughts initially boarding the November flight.
As seen in the now-viral videos Scranton posted online in early August, the elderly woman began leaning her head and falling asleep on Scranton’s shoulder. She explains that the unruly seatmate’s behavior started as soon as the plane was “in the air,” and that things escalated to the point where the woman allegedly picked up a knife. Regarding where the older woman got the knife, Scranton says it “seemed to be from the cutlery from the in-flight meals.”
The business owner says she initially had “compassion” for the older woman but soon became overwhelmed by the “ridiculous” behavior. Despite the apparent language barrier, Scranton believes the woman should’ve known physical contact was inappropriate.
“This is not your aircraft. This is not your space. Like, no, no, no,” Scranton says. “She knew what she was doing, and I honestly felt like she started to get frustrated at the halfway point [of the flight] — where she pointed the knife at me. I 100% think she knew what she was doing.”
“Falling asleep is one thing,” she continues. “But when you have someone who’s threatening you? She kept putting herself on me, touching me — she was harassing me.”
Although many have shown support, some critics have also called out Scranton after she posted the three-part video online. In response to her critics, she says, “You have not had the experience that I had where someone is in your personal space [on a flight]. Their legs are on you, they’re lying out on the seat where they’re trying to put their feet on you.”
She continues, “I didn’t want there to be a [news] segment of me fighting an elderly woman on a flight. I didn’t want to walk out of there with handcuffs. So many things were going through my head. And although I was nudging her, or, like, moving her leg, I wasn’t trying to do it so aggressively that I caused her pain — even though I felt threatened. Maybe I’m just too nice.”
What Else Is There To Know About Jamia Scranton’s November Flight From Doha To New York City Via Qatar Airways?
Scranton says she was in Doha on a layover vacation following the completion of a group trip. The traveler claims to have reached out to Qatar Airways numerous times over the past nine months in the hopes of rectifying the situation in some way. However, she says there hasn’t been a proper follow-up from the airline.
According to Scranton, her outreach has included filing a report of the incident upon her return to New York City, submitting feedback on the airline’s website, sending Qatar Airways emails, and contacting the carrier via social media. The business owner disclosed that if she doesn’t hear back from Qatar Airways, she plans to pursue legal action.
Scranton is seeking an apology and compensation. She also wants the airline to put its flight attendants through “additional training” so they’re better equipped to promptly handle situations like the one she went through. She says since the November incident, she experiences PTSD, persistent flashbacks, and insomnia. Also, she says she battles certain anxieties and fears around flying, which is difficult as traveling is central to her line of work. Now, she’s very cautious and hyperaware of where she’s seated on a flight.
“For them to be called the best airline in the world, I’m very shocked that they have not even reached out to me,” says Scranton of Qatar Airways.
“Where I sit on planes is very important to me… I have not been able to sleep since this happened,” says Scranton. “Some days are good. Some days are not good. And every time I go to the airport, there’s that anxiety of, ‘Oh, gosh, [I’m] not going to sit next to you. How’s that going to work?’ I think that anxiety comes with the fear of flying. But it’s my job. And I’m not going to let anxiety or that trauma keep me from flying. But if I had it my way, I’d be in first class every single flight, because this is ridiculous.”
Regarding why she decided to make the matter public now, she says, “What I experienced was unacceptable. I didn’t initially want to share this on social media. I’m a very private person, and I also have a certain image of myself. So to put something out there that’s so private that happened to me, so sensitive… Just everything that I’ve been going through over the past couple of months — it needed to be brought to light.”
Travel Noire reached out to Qatar Airways for comment on Scranton’s claims but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
The post ‘Unacceptable’: Content Creator Goes Viral After Seatmate Allegedly Points Knife At Her On Flight appeared first on Travel Noire.
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