01 February, 2018

Emirates passenger claims he was hit and tied to a seat.

A flight to the USA to reunite a Nigerian man with his family turned into a disaster and a torturous ride as he claims he was bound and punched him by cabin crew who also taped his mouth shut for hours!.

David Ukesone who is 71 years old and was flying with Emirates from Nairobi to Chicago via Dubai on 23rd January.  His first flight passed uneventfully, however after boarding EK235 his onward flight from Dubai to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, things took a turn for the worse.

According to local media reports and Mr Ukesone's legal advisor, the 71-year-old was given a boarding pass for seat 35D, departing Dubai at 9:45 pm. During the flight, approximately seven hours from Chicago, Alex Ogoke, Ukesone's attorney says his client went to the restroom, when he returned he miscalculated and sat in the wrong seat. 


The seat he sat in was meant for the crew, it's been reported and when the Emirates cabin crew informed Mr Ukesone that he'd made a mistake and was in the wrong seat, he became confused and believed he was "in the right" and didn't understand why they wanted him to move.


This story continues - 




US media is reporting that it was then that 'the argument intensified and a member of the flight crew allegedly struck him "at least once" leaving a "large welt on his face.".  According to his attorney, Ukesone has "significant wounds on his wrists and ankles" from where he allegedly bound by hemp rope to restain him. He also claims his mouth was taped shut and was denied food or water for the rest of the flight.

Upon arrival in Chicago, Ukesone was removed from the aircraft by the US authorities and the Chicago Police Department confirmed to ABC News that a passenger on the Emirates flight was removed from the plane by the US Customs and Border Patrol.

Emirates Airlines has issued a statement regarding the incident.

"Emirates can confirm that a passenger on flight EK235 from Dubai to Chicago on 23 January had to be restrained by cabin crew due to unruly behavior during the flight. The passenger was handed over to the authorities on arrival in Chicago. The safety of our passengers and crew is of the utmost importance and will not be compromised. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the other passengers on the flight for their understanding, in particular, the individuals who had assisted our crew during the flight."


Mr Ukesone's legal advisor is adamant that they will file legal action against the airline. 



This article was written for this site by a member of our team 🙋, please do share it with your friends via social media. You are also welcome to post it or republish elsewhere on the 🌎web on the condition that you credit the author and link back to our site. Thank you.

 ♻ We care about the environment, please think twice before you hit ‘print’  

Search