The Oregonian | By Maxine Bernstein | December 23, 2024
A Horizon Air flight attendant is suing the air carrier, alleging two of its pilots sexually harassed her soon after she started her job.
The pilots, the suit alleges, “repeatedly and severely” sexually harassed the woman from September through February of this year and the air carrier’s human resources office “took no action” to protect her.
Alaska Air Inc., which owns the regional carrier Horizon Air, declined comment, citing the pending litigation.
One of the pilots, who is married, would text the attendant while flying with inappropriate sexually explicit messages, according to the suit.
Another pilot lured the flight attendant to his hotel room in Portland after a flight together in February and then subjected her to unwanted kissing and touching before she escaped from the room, the suit alleges.
The attendant, identified as J.B. in the suit, first reported the harassment in December and again in February, according to the suit.
The suit accuses Horizon Air human resources officials of insinuating that she was at fault for encouraging the inappropriate behavior and failing to change her assignments to avoid the pilots.
The woman in March reported the behavior to Portland police and took a leave of absence, the suit says. She also has petitioned for a sexual abuse protective order against one of the pilots, according to court records.
No criminal charges have resulted and the pilots remain flying for Horizon Air, the suit says.
The attendant remains off work on unpaid leave, said her lawyer, Michael Fuller.
“In light of Horizon Air’s mishandling of her reports of sexual assault, she doesn’t feel safe working there anymore, and she is still deciding on future career options,” he said by email.
The flight attendant filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Portland on Monday. The suit seeks unspecified non-economic and punitive damages against Horizon Air.
