“There are some things that should never be done on a plane – and looking at porn is one of them. But one passenger was shocked to see the person next to them on a flight doing just that,” reported The Irish Sun (WARNING: original article contains sexual imagery)
While on a flight from Miami International Airport, one passenger noticed that the man sitting next to him was reading a Japanese comic book, known as manga. However, this particular manga contained pornographic imagery and depictions of sexual acts. The man later pulled out a magazine containing photos of naked women.
The passenger posted photos of the incident on Instagram under the hashtag #passengershaming – which people use to raise awareness about rude airline passengers. This act is more than rude, however. Viewing pornography during flight, especially when children could be around, creates a toxic environment and one that facilitates sexual harassment.
It is not reported what kind of disciplinary, if any, was taken or what airline the flight was on.
The fact that the passenger thought posting to Instagram was the best course of action is telling. Airline policies are often unclear or not announced with respect to disallowing pornography viewing. Passengers, and flight attendants alike, are often unsure about what to do in the event someone is viewing pornography in-flight. Flight attendants also lack proper training on how to handle sexually harassing situations such as this.
At NCOSE, we started our Fly Free campaign to raise awareness and address these specific issues. No person should be forced to endure a toxic environment like this during flights.
