Ryanair Passenger Subjected to Racist Abuse Speaks Out
Delsie Gayle, 77, said that her encounter with the white man has left her feeling very depressed and wary about flight travel.
A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 aircraft lands at Barcelona’s ‘El Prat’ airport on September 28, 2018. – Ryanair cancelled scores of European flights today as unions staged what they warned could be the biggest strike in the airline’s history.
The Dublin-based low-cost carrier has played down fears of widespread disruption but confirmed it would cancel nearly 250 flights. (Photo by PAU BARRENA / AFP) (Photo credit should read PAU BARRENA/AFP/Getty Images)
The elderly Black woman who was the target of horrific racist abuse while onboard a Ryanair flight from Spain to England is speaking out for the first time, telling her story about how the encounter made her feel.
“He pays his fare, I pay mine. So why did he abuse me for that? Because of the color of my skin … If I had done that to him, I’m sure they would have called the police,” Delsie Gayle, 77, told ITV News in an interview.
“I feel really depressed about it. I go to bed and say ‘what have I done?'” Gayle added.
According to The Guardian, Essex Police, which oversees the region around the London Stansted airport where the flight landed, have identified the man involved in the incident and have passed the information to the Spanish authorities who are heading an investigation.
In upsetting footage of Gayle’s encounter, the white assailant can be seen calling the elderly woman an “ugly black bastard,” and taunting her adding, “Don’t speak to me in a foreign language, you stupid ugly cow.”
Gayle’s daughter, Carol, 53, blasted Ryanair for their response to the situation. The unruly passenger was not removed from his seat, let alone from the fight, during his racist meltdown.
“He should have been moved or taken off the plane and nothing was done … Nobody has apologized. We’ve not had nothing. We just want an open apology from Ryanair,” Carol, 53, said.
