What was meant to be a dream assignment in the special sports charter program at Delta Air Lines turned into a living nightmare for a transgender flight attendant who has now revealed that she was left feeling suicidal after working a contract with an NFL American Football team.
Dream Job Turns Into a Nightmare
The distressing ordeal that the flight attendant went through was revealed in a massive 108-page complaint filed in a Georgia district court last week, in which a slew of allegations have been leveled against Delta, including discrimination.
The long-serving flight attendant, who we have decided not to name, was hired by Northwest Airlines in 2007 and has worked for Delta ever since its acquisition of Northwest a year later.
The victim started her working life as a flight attendant as a male, but in 2013, the Hawaiian-born crew member completed her transition to a female.
By the time the plaintiff secured what she thought would be a major promotion to join Delta’s sports charter program in 2020, she appeared and presented as a female, and there was no reason for anyone to suspect that she was transgender.
She considered her selection to the charter program as a “significant career advancement,” securing the role despite fierce competition from across the airline – instead, she claims she was left broken and humiliated by the experience.
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The crew member was selected to work with an NFL team, initially as an ‘alternate flight attendant,’ which is a reserve position when one of the primary flight attendants who normally fly with the team to every game goes sick or is otherwise unavailable.
Flight Attendant Says She Was Bullied For Being Transgender
It wasn’t long after she joined the charter program, however, that she claims she became aware that the lead flight attendant and another senior crew member were anti-trans.
On one of the first trips with the team, the lead flight attendant allegedly outed the plaintiff because of the size of her knuckles and calves. From this point onwards, the lead flight attendant would repeatedly out the plaintiff as transgender to coworkers and team members, the lawsuit states.
“I don’t want that s**t on here”
the lead FA allegedly told coworkers
Such was the extent of the lead flight attendant’s supposed anti-trans bias that she tried to get the plaintiff off the charter program, telling coworkers that “I don’t want that s**t on here” and that the team didn’t “want that skirt and heels.”
Demoted And Crushed By The Experience
By 2022, however, the plaintiff was selected as part of the six-member team of primary flight attendants but this didn’t stop the bullying she received at the hands of the lead crew member and some coworkers.
On one occasion, the plaintiff was deliberately excluded from a special event hosted by the sports team, while on another occasion, it was alleged that the lead flight attendant effort orchestrated a plan to demote the plaintiff back to an alternate flight attendant.
While the lead flight attendant didn’t have the power to do this herself, witnesses are understood to have overheard her tell someone from the sports team to have the plaintiff demoted.
The crew member says she was left “crushed” by this demotion, along with the years of alleged bullying in the charter program, and ended up being prescribed anti-depressants.
Mental Health Struggles And An Official Complaint
In July 2023, the plaintiff challenged her demotion and filed a complaint with her manager, but rather than looking into her concerns, she says the investigation morphed into an inquiry into her key witnesses after they were accused of racist behavior by the lead flight attendant.
These allegations were taken so seriously that one witness was terminated for using the N-word before the investigation was shut down because it had failed to substantiate the plaintiff’s allegations.
She says this is simply untrue, and her allegations were swept under the carpet.
In the end, the plaintiff says she could no longer work with her abuser and gave up her dream job working on Delta’s charter program. This decision left her feeling suicidal, and she had to move to Las Vegas to rebuild her life as a crew member in Delta’s mainline operation.
Lawsuit Now Alleges Harassment And Discrimination
The lawsuit lists 12 causes of action, including sexual harassment, invasion of privacy, discrimination, and harassment.
Delta has yet to respond to the lawsuit which was filed in the district court for the northern district of Georgia on June 9. Case number: 1:25-cv-03227
Help is available
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available.
You can call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 anytime, day or night, to connect with a trained crisis counselor. Support is free and confidential.
You are not alone.
These guys are paying a TON of money to Delta and they don’t want these mentally ill freaks on the plane.
Simple enough to understand.
I’m surprised that people with severe mental illness are safe to work as flight attendants. I hope they they get the treatment them needs
“she appeared and presented as a female, and there was no reason for anyone to suspect that she was transgender.”
No reason to suspect, according to who?
Its not rocket science, anyone can see a man in a dress a mile away.
this article is written with a clear agenda.