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AIBU?

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AIBU to still feel shaken after drunk men made vile comments on Wizz Air flight?

189 replies

morello1 · 02/09/2026 13:41

I think I need a bit of a mum hug, because I keep wanting to cry about something that happened on a flight recently.

I was with my DD9 and there were three very drunk men I'd say early 30s sitting behind her. They'd moved seats during the flight and had been drinking heavily, getting louder and more obnoxious as the flight went on - really vile stuff. She had head phones on so I thought don't start a scene just ignore and get off.

Towards the end though you have to put away devices and as we were standing to get off I pointed at my DD and gave them a pleading sort of look, just so they realised there was a child sitting in front of them. I didn't confront them just guestured.
One of them put his hand on my arm said, “You're right, it's not funny. sorry love”
The other then said grinning:
“It is funny if I rape the fucking kid.”
The first one immediately said he'd gone too far using the “R word”, and they all laughed.

I was completely stunned. I didn't know what to say. I just wanted to get my daughter away from them, so I got her off the plane as quickly as I could. I told the staff as I was leaving that I needed to make a complaint and I was crying at that point but the staff were kids and just looked at me blankly I wanted to get my DD as far away from them as poss as quickly as poss

back in england I've reported it to the police. They initially seemed to take it very seriously, particularly because these were three drunk men on a flight making an explicit comment about a child. I've got a crime reference number and the airport police have contacted Wizz Air.
It seems to be difficult to identify the men because they'd moved seats during the flight, and the police are having difficulty getting the booking/payment details relating to the seat changes. They haven't said it's closed, but I have a new officer who gives the impression they were trying to manage my expectations.

I've also complained to Wizz Air and, despite sending everything they've asked for and chasing them twice, they've basically not responded. ZERO.

And now I don't know whether I should just leave it.
I keep thinking I should have done something differently. Got the cabin crew details. Confronted them. Made more of a fuss. But honestly, I was shocked and my only thought was getting my DD away from them and fast.

I know I've reported it and I've done what I can. But I can't seem to stop replaying it.
How do you actually move on from something like this? Would you keep pursuing it, or would you draw a line under it and try to forget about it?
I think I just need some mums to tell me I'm not being ridiculous for still being really really upset about it.

OP posts:
tsmainsqueeze · 03/09/2026 07:20

morello1 · 02/09/2026 13:51

wouldn't you want the airline to respond at all? they had served them 5 beers each during the flight when they were obviously already drunk which is an offence.

I am disgusted , I would have wanted to kill them, but I think getting the clearly inexperienced ?? Staff involved could have made your child very frightened.
I hold air crew totally responsible for escalating these situations by continuing to serve alcohol, why does anyone need to drink it on a flight anyway?
But I think I would have to find a way to move on, sadly in a world of mostly i hope good people there are some total scum who now and then cross your path.
I hope though that behind the scenes someone may think this is serious enough to look into.

morello1 · 03/09/2026 07:49

IStillHearTheWaves · 03/09/2026 07:04

Crying is just a reaction. It doesn't mean people are falling apart or weak. OP was clearly shocked and angry and it needed to come out somewhere.

I don't cry, I get get angry in situations like this, which isn't very helpful either, but it's a fight or flight response.

Can I just clarify I wasn’t weepy I had I was literally shaking with anger / shock when I spoke to the crew to let them know that I was in deep distress I started welling up visibly I was still with my daughter trying to keep it together I’d pushed ahead down the aisle to get some distance between us and them - my daughter was a few steps ahead so trying not to loose sight of her also - and I didn’t break down like and sob or anything like that

just made it very very clear that it was not acceptable. The crew looked bewildered so obviously took on board I was serious

OP posts:
SALaw · 03/09/2026 08:01

Johnogroats · 02/09/2026 14:07

Do Wizz air respond on Twitter? I’d be tweeting and also contacting Jess Phillips and your MP.

Why Jess Phillips?

Johnogroats · 03/09/2026 08:17

SALaw · 03/09/2026 08:01

Why Jess Phillips?

I’m a bit out of date - she was the safeguarding minister and was very high profile. She left the government over a point of principle in May. Since then you’ve had Natalie Fleet MP — May to July 2026, followed by Satvir Kaur MP. I’d tweet all of them.

StarCourt · 03/09/2026 08:29

@morello1 try the Whizz air info profiles screenshots I posted up thread

SALaw · 03/09/2026 08:58

Johnogroats · 03/09/2026 08:17

I’m a bit out of date - she was the safeguarding minister and was very high profile. She left the government over a point of principle in May. Since then you’ve had Natalie Fleet MP — May to July 2026, followed by Satvir Kaur MP. I’d tweet all of them.

I don’t think people no longer doing the job will get involved. They will refer you to current minister or you own MP at best.

rabpack · 03/09/2026 09:08

I’d have shown him up to the entire plane with my phone pointing in his face. This is absolutely sickening. I’m so sorry OP. Your way of getting your daughter away asap is probably better than mine but the whole world would have known who he was if it was me. What a disgusting man.

GrantMyWishes · 03/09/2026 09:32

morello1 · 02/09/2026 21:32

I didn’t want to move the flight was full apart from the extra leg room seats that these men moved to so they could sit together- they were also in a bigger group split up so moving would have meant me and my daughter would be separated and possibly ended up with one of their mates that they were walking back and forth from from time to time

Thanks for the explanation OP, I did wonder why you wouldn't have at the least been able to move to the seats they vacated, but totally understand why you wouldn't have wanted to end up in the middle of even more people like them.

EmailsaysOOO · 03/09/2026 09:41

IStillHearTheWaves · 03/09/2026 07:02

There's being drunk idiots and theres 'joking' about raping a 9 year old girl. I think you have to be a certain kind of person to find that funny, drunk anf trying to imoress your mates with your 'edgy' and 'dark humour' or not.

I hope I would have asked very loudly if he's saying he's a paedophile.

I.was saying I think it wouldn't have got to that point had OP been firmer/ clearer , if she had said something to them.

GingerdeadMan · 03/09/2026 10:21

APP said why bother reporting them, being obnoxious isn't a crinme?

No, but being drunk and disorderly is.
Harassment is.
Assault (doesn't require physical contact) is.

TheSoapyFrog · 03/09/2026 10:52

YANBU OP. I wouldn't be able to let it go, it's the sort of thing that would eat away at me. Personally, I would be making a nuisance of myself to the airline until someone replied to me - emailing/calling their HQ.

Have the police made a formal request for the manifest? If they have and it's been ignored, have they applied for a court order? I would also be pestering them regularly.

I would also be lodging complaints with the aviation Ombudsman (can't remember what they're called), and with the UK Civil Aviation Authority as staff serving that amount of alcohol is a safety issue.

Lastly, I would broadcast it on social media, along with flight details, tagging Wizz airlines in it.

The thought of that bunch of c*s getting away with something like that about my child is unbearable.

notimagain · 03/09/2026 11:23

As a poster mentioned way back Wizz isn't a UK airline so the UK CAA have limited powers here , other than CAA Flight Ops inspectors maybe giving Wizz cabin crew a hard look at and maybe a grilling on policy regarding alcohol and/or crew experience levels during a UK ramp check (that's a spot check sometimes done on foreign airliners during turnrounds).

As far as manifests go, similar problem - not a UK airline.

I don't know Wizz's rules but I certainly wouldn't assume a detailed manifest with exact seat/pax allocation must exist x days or x week post flight completion, and since the OP claims people moved seats even if a manifest could be found it might be meaningless.

Comeonelieen · 03/09/2026 11:28

I don’t see how it can possibly be ridiculous to be upset about 3 drunk men laughing and joking about raping a child 😕

That said you’ve reported it so I guess you’ve done all you can do so maybe try not to dwell on it to much

Vannuts · 03/09/2026 11:48

I’m so sick of this shit. Everywhere we turn. And the minimising by previous posters is a wee bit frustrating too. Drunk men are the worst. The laughing and arm touching just illustrates these men don’t think women and children deserve respect, we’re just not equal humans to them.
I hope the airline responds, and tracks down these cretins.

SevenYellowHammers · 03/09/2026 11:52

I don’t think you did anything wrong. And I think, horrible as it is, pursuing it is important. 💐

abathofmilkwithladydi · 03/09/2026 11:52

@EmailsaysOOOyou are sounding mighty like someone who says things like “what did you expect if you were dressed like that”…………..

EmailsaysOOO · 03/09/2026 11:58

abathofmilkwithladydi · 03/09/2026 11:52

@EmailsaysOOOyou are sounding mighty like someone who says things like “what did you expect if you were dressed like that”…………..

Whatever. We all have different approaches to life

EscapeTheCastle · 03/09/2026 12:01

The police dont need Inspector Morse to work this out do they? Bloody Hell they are useless, they just need to speak to the airline and then to all three drunks booked in those three seats. The ones that didnt nake the threat will probably tell the police who it was.
They probably dont have the resources. The airline is a disgrace as well.
I feel so angry for you OP.

In the meantime I hope you can trust that you made the right judgment at the time. Don't listen to all the Captain Hindsights on here saying "what I would have done is....bla bla bla......" they werent there!

notimagain · 03/09/2026 12:09

@EscapeTheCastle

The police dont need Inspector Morse to work this out do they? Bloody Hell they are useless, they just need to speak to the airline and then to all three drunks booked in those three seats

From the OPs OP..if you see what I mean, with reference to the three "very drunk men"

They'd moved seats during the flight

So any original manifest/Passenger Info List for the flight is close to useless.

I can understand why the OP did what she did but by not directly involving the Cabin Crew it's made it hard to close to impossible to resolve this.

Doesn't matter whether the crew look 18 or 80 they will have been trained to deal with this sort of crap.

Tralalalala88 · 03/09/2026 12:16

It’s no wonder you are upset . What a disgusting and vile and horrible thing for them to say . It is frustrating to think they will probably get away with this . I honestly wouldn’t blame you for being so angry . I am laid back and let a lot of things slide . But this is just too much.

Verbena91 · 03/09/2026 12:25

Sorry I haven’t RTFT just the OP’s comments but in case not already posted here is the CEO of Wizz Air’s email:
[email protected]

Suggest you write a VERY strongly worded email including crime reference number and accompanied by a Tweet OP

StarCourt · 03/09/2026 14:47

TheSoapyFrog · 03/09/2026 10:52

YANBU OP. I wouldn't be able to let it go, it's the sort of thing that would eat away at me. Personally, I would be making a nuisance of myself to the airline until someone replied to me - emailing/calling their HQ.

Have the police made a formal request for the manifest? If they have and it's been ignored, have they applied for a court order? I would also be pestering them regularly.

I would also be lodging complaints with the aviation Ombudsman (can't remember what they're called), and with the UK Civil Aviation Authority as staff serving that amount of alcohol is a safety issue.

Lastly, I would broadcast it on social media, along with flight details, tagging Wizz airlines in it.

The thought of that bunch of c*s getting away with something like that about my child is unbearable.

Absolutely this

Netcurtainnelly · 03/09/2026 15:09

You haven't got any proof so I think you should let it go and nobody else heard either. Your word against his.

You are prolonging the agony in your mind. Your daughter and you are ok. You did the right thing moving away and getting away.

All these people on here baying for blood and say you should have shouted and screamed no way. He was drunk you could have been attacked. It could have been worse then. God knows what could have broken out.
Always move away.
One day he will get caught out and something will happen to him. Let it go now you deserve peace from such a horrible incident.
You kept you and your daughter safe OP well done. Bide your time and hell get his come uppance one day

Netcurtainnelly · 03/09/2026 15:10

Tralalalala88 · 03/09/2026 12:16

It’s no wonder you are upset . What a disgusting and vile and horrible thing for them to say . It is frustrating to think they will probably get away with this . I honestly wouldn’t blame you for being so angry . I am laid back and let a lot of things slide . But this is just too much.

Nope one day something will happen to him if he carries on which he probably will.

dottiedodah · 03/09/2026 15:20

This is vile your poor DD.I am aghast at some people! Defo report and let Wizz air know in no uncertain terms what was said

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