A woman said she woke up to a man trying to rape her in a Parisian hotel after an airline booked her a room with a stranger when her flight was cancelled.
The 30-year-old woman was intending to travel to Lisbon from the French capital when her TAP Air Portugal flight in the evening was cancelled.
The passengers, who were already seated on the plane, were reportedly told to exit the aircraft and make their way to the TAP kiosk where reservation vouchers for hotel rooms could be collected.
But single rooms were limited, and the woman claimed she was told by the airline that she would have to spend the night in the hotel with other passengers.
‘I refused, demanding a room just for myself, but I was told that this was not an option: either I had to accept, or pay out of my own pocket, something that was unfeasible for me in Paris,’ she told O Globo.
She said she was handed a voucher with the names of a German woman and a Brazilian man who she would be sharing the room with that night.
‘During the night, the German woman left the room and I was woken up with the naked man on top of me, kissing my neck, holding me down, trying to rape me,’ the woman, a consultant, said.
‘Luckily, I managed to defend myself, screamed, and he left the room. Still, the scars of the episode remain.’
After the incident, she attempted to contact TAP for help, but claimed she received no response directly from the airline.
She did receive guidance on how to access the services of the Portuguese Victim Support Association (APAV), however.
The woman is of Brazilian descent and holds Italian citizenship.
She is seeking legal and psychological support in Brazil and has filed a lawsuit against the airline for ‘moral harassment and negligence’, O Globo reported.
She also filed a police report about the sexual harassment.
TAP allegedly proposed a settlement of R$3,000 (£409) before raising the offer to R$5,000 (£682), but has not yet apologised or acknowledged an error.
The other woman who was allocated to the room is understood to have written a note explaining that she left the hotel after being unable to sleep.
The next day, following the alleged attack, she said she saw the Brazilian woman look ‘visibly emotionally shaken’.
‘The [assignment] of the room was imposed by the airline, without any possibility of refusal or individual choice, placing [passengers] in a situation of vulnerability,’ she told the Portuguese publication.
The alleged victim decided to come forward with her experience to warn other passengers and seek accountability from the airline.
‘How many other reports from women in vulnerable situations were silenced due to a lack of support or strength to continue? I had Brazil on my side. And what about the Portuguese women?’ she said.
The legal case since the incident on May 31 is ongoing.
The woman is working with lawyer Nathália Magalhães, who said her client is seeking compensation of up to R$50,000 (£6,825).
‘Unfortunately, we were very disappointed to realise that, even with the lawsuit, the company did not send an apology or show concern,’ she said.
‘It’s unacceptable that they could only offer accommodation at that hotel and in shared rooms. It’s humiliating treatment.’
TAP Portugal could not be immediately reached for comment.
