Getting kicked off a plane for menstrual cramps is absurd. But that’s exactly what happened to 24-year-old Beth Evans and her boyfriend, 26-year-old Joshua Moran. While on an Emirates flight bound for Dubai, a flight attendant overheard the couple’s private conversation about Evans’ period pains. They were both then removed from the flight, as reported by the Washington Post.
Even though Evans ranked her pain as “1 out of 10,” according to the Times of London, she was still booted from the flight for worries about her health, just before the plane was set to depart Birmingham, England.
Moran told British outlet the Sun, “To be kicked off for period pains, it was madness.” He added, “Beth was in tears and getting upset when the hostess was asking her questions. It’s embarrassing to have to explain about period pains when it’s being overheard.”
Emirates issued a statement, which said Evans was “offloaded” due to “a medical emergency.”
The statement read, “The passenger alerted the crew onboard that she was suffering from discomfort and pain and mentioned that she was feeling unwell.” It continued, “The captain made the decision to request medical support and offload Ms. Evans so she could access medical assistance as needed. The safety of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance, and we would not have wanted to endanger Ms. Evans by delaying medical help had she worsened during the seven-hour flight to Dubai. We hope Ms. Evans felt better soon and look forward to welcoming her onboard again soon.”
The couple stressed that they never shared Evans’ discomfort with the flight attendant, and that the flight attendant had been listening to their conversation, according to the Sun. Evans added that her condition wasn’t dire enough for them to leave the flight, but the couple were removed and forced to pay $350 each to reschedule their travel.
According to Emirates’ website, such incidents are evaluated individually. A majority of the no-fly medical conditions make sense, such as passengers suffering congestive cardiac failure or uncontrolled seizures, or pregnancies past the 36th week. But the site doesn’t list menstrual cramps. This situation is truly illogical.
