‘Cheap’ Flight Attendant Left Behind in Paris as Crew Drives Off — TikTok Video Sparks Online Outrage
- A flight attendant creator working for a major U.S. airline has sparked an online backlash after revealing that she and her crew accidentally left a fellow flight attendant behind on the plane during a Paris layover.
- She then criticized her coworker on TikTok, blaming her for being “cheap."
A flight attendant working for a major US airline has caused an online drama after admitting that she and the rest of her crew on an international flight to Paris left one of their coworkers on the plane after forgetting she was on their flight.
Rather than being apologetic about leaving a crew member behind, the flight attendant laughed about the incident in a now-viral post on TikTok and came to the conclusion that the moral of the story was, ‘Don’t be cheap.’
The incident unfolded on a recent overnight flight from Newark to Paris when the abandoned crew member stored some food she had bought for her layover in a chilled stowage in the plane’s back galley.
When it came to deplane, however, the flight attendant initially forgot to pick up her food and then ran back onboard the plane as the other crew were walking towards their van to take them to their layover hotel.
In the short time that it took the flight attendant to collect her food, her coworkers had already left her behind and were driving on the motorway towards central Paris.
As the TikTok creator known as ‘Life With Oatmeal’ explained:
“This flight attendant, who chose to work in the back galley with me, asks me, ‘Is there a place where I can place my food?’ Of course, you can put your food here, I cleared out all the supplies, so anyone who brings their food can place it here.”
“She went on to tell me, ‘Well, Paris is so expensive, so I went to the supermarket last night and got a yogurt and a sandwich.'”
@life.with.oatmeal Storytime. Cheap flight attendant was left on the plane in Paris. #lifewithoatmeal #storytime #paris #flightattendant ♬ original sound – Life With Oatmeal
“So from Newark International Airport to Charles de Gaulle is just under seven hours. Well, all flight attendants know that once you land, especially flying through the night, there’s amnesia. We land, we deplane, we grab our things to leave the airplane, to get on the van to go to our hotel.”
“As we’re walking up the jetbridge, the flight attendant asks me, ‘Did you get my food?’ No, why would I get your food?”
“I’m not here to get your food. Listen, buying a yogurt and a sandwich in Paris is not going to break the bank, you can still pay your rent.”
That may well be the case, but it’s what happened next, once the rest of the crew had boarded their van, that has left many flight attendants scratching their heads in disbelief.
“The purser looks at all the crew members and says, ‘If you’re not here, raise your hand.’ And then, once we’re on the motorway, the driver of the van receives a phone call. The call is actually from the gate agent in Paris saying that the flight attendant who went to get her sandwich and yogurt was left, yes, she was left.”
To be fair to the TikTok creator, she does make some good points:
- It wasn’t her responsibility to collect or remember her coworker’s food
- Flight attendants really do suffer from long-haul anmesia and are always forgetting things on long-haul flights
- For a US-based flight attendant, a layover in Paris is not expensive
But that all being said, there is a collective responsibility amongst all the crew, and especially the purser, to ensure that all the crew members are in the van and no one has been left behind.
Does this happen from time to time? Yes, absolutely. And while it’s something that is normally laughed about after the fact, I don’t know whether joking about it on social media is the right approach.
Some of the comments on the creator’s original video take an even harsher view, provoking quite a fierce online backlash.
The creator has, however, defended her take on the situation, saying in a follow-up video that even flight attendants with money worries can “still buy a sandwich on a layover.”
Is this a laughing matter, or should the flight attendants have made sure they didn’t leave one of their own behind? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Trash..plane (sic) and simple. WHY…WHY would she be so stupid to publish/post this. Yeah, it was a mistake. Keep her receipts and present them to the carrier (United, I’m guessing) for reimbursement. There was no need to shame anyone. This is the problem with these narcissistic people who post everything in their miserable lives for the world to see….me, me, me, me, me. I’m betting that from now on, her co-workers will treat her as the pariah that she is.
Scrolled through her TT and nothing really gives away where she works (that I fount)… until that video. I suspect you’re right and what could/should have been a teaching moment for the other FA is instead a shaming session and a potential PR problem now that other bloggers are talking about it. Her replies to the comments are telling too. She just doesn’t care that people think she’s in the wrong because, as you stated, narcissist.
I think the Tik Tokker was very unprofessional ane surely the airline in question must have a strict social mdia policy?
Again the airline in question must have a bullying and harassment policy?
Everyone has a right to an opinion that’s humam nature but keep it to yourself.
This is actually really cruel and unkind to berate a fellow colleague in such a way.
Chances are due to the size of the organisation these colleagues probably worked together for the first time so does the Tik Tokker actually genuinely know their team member?
Everyone has a right to be frugal , the states has one of the highest rates of personal debt in the world and who knows maybe they are struggling to make ends meet so they are doing whatever it takes to address this?
Maybe the frugality is because they are desperately trying to fund their approaching retirement or saving to buy their first home? Maybe they are caring for someone who is ill and has high medical bills? The list is endless.
Using social media via your place of work to self promote yourself for outside interests in my opinion is a big NO NO.
Of course a lot of companies encourage colleagues to use social media to promote their brand but this is carefully monitored and controlled.
The Tik Tokker should be hauled into the office and dealt with accordingly end of and equally there should be a duty of care for the victim because we don’t know what is going on in their lives there is a duty of care.
It’s in times like these that we should be kind and respectful towards each other because life is not easy for some.
A deplaning crew must travel together getting to the hotel! No one should be left behind. I flew for 46 years and this was our policy. Waiting a few extra minutes isn’t a big deal. And saving money anywhere one can is a good thing. It all adds up!
Absolutely! She shouldn’t be a Purser if she isn’t watching out for the entire crew!
It’s all true: its not her job to get the other girl’s food. And its not on any of them to make sure that girl is with them. But she still KNEW about the food. She and others KNEW that this girl ran to get it. It wasn’t “their job”, but it still makes them bad people for purposely leaving her behind AND for judging her and looking down on her. This is a form of bullying and this tiktokker and her cohorts are bullies.
Not about food, it’s about treating a colleague reasonably!
Shame how people are anymore. Work together and then cheapen your co worker because they live differently. Is the TT poster senior to her co worker? Wages are higher with seniority. And whats a few seconds after being together 7 hrs.