TAP Air Portugal announced on Tuesday that any actions by the company are contingent on the “completion of inquiries and investigations” by the relevant authorities, following reports of an alleged attempted rape in a hotel room in Paris, after one of its flights was canceled.
The airline further asserts it does not require passengers to share rooms and covers any accommodation costs passengers might incur on their own.
“Regarding the alleged incident in Paris, we inform you that any measures by TAP are contingent on the completion of investigations by the competent local authorities,” reads a response from the airline to Notícias ao Minuto.
Additionally, TAP asserts that the “contact made by the company with the passenger, as well as the proposal presented, refers exclusively to civil matters arising from the cancellation of flight TP439, which is subject to ongoing legal action in Brazil.”
“We emphasize that this action does not include the investigation of possible crimes committed on international territory, which is solely the jurisdiction of the local authorities,” it stresses.
The issue arose when reports surfaced that after being contacted by the passenger, TAP had proposed compensation that did not reach one thousand euros.
“They proposed a settlement of five thousand reais [785 euros] without an apology or acknowledgment of the error. It’s a barrier in the attempt to acknowledge the case, have a voice, change, and safety for women,” the alleged victim told the newspaper O Globo.
The incident reportedly occurred on May 31, after a flight scheduled to depart from Paris, France, to Lisbon was canceled and rescheduled for the next day. The woman, 30, who works as an environmental consultant in the Portuguese capital, claims to have been a victim of an attempted rape after TAP placed her in a hotel room with a stranger.
In the response sent to Notícias ao Minuto, TAP Air Portugal states that its policies “do not allow placing unfamiliar passengers in the same room unless they are on the same reservation, traveling together, or have expressly expressed interest and availability to do so.”
However, “in the event of accommodation unavailability in hotels pre-defined by the company, TAP ensures that any costs the passenger incurs to provide their accommodation will be duly reimbursed, provided they are proven and formally requested.”
It should be noted that, according to the Brazilian newspaper, the woman said that after the flight was canceled, she immediately went to the TAP service counter, where a voucher for a hotel room reservation was given to her.
“I was informed by a TAP employee that there weren’t enough single rooms, and I would have to share a room with other passengers,” she reported. “I refused, demanding a room for myself, but was informed that this was not an option: either I accepted it or paid out of pocket, which was not feasible for me in Paris,” added the Brazilian woman, who also has Italian nationality.
The passenger ended up sharing the room with another woman, German, and a man of Brazilian nationality—both strangers but identified on the voucher.
“During the night, the German woman left the room, and I was awakened by the man naked on top of me, kissing my neck, holding me, attempting to assault me,” the woman recounted, adding that she was “lucky” to defend herself in time and that after screaming, the man “left the room.”
This German woman had left a note in the room saying she was leaving, and they met the next day. This passenger eventually agreed to provide a written testimony.
“I was informed that I would share a room with two other strangers, including the Brazilian,” the note stated, as reported by the newspaper. “I couldn’t sleep and decided to return to the airport, leaving the Brazilian woman with the stranger,” adding that she found the Brazilian “visibly emotionally shaken.”
“The room sharing was imposed by the airline, without any possibility of individual refusal or choice, putting [passengers] in a position of vulnerability and insecurity,” it concluded.
Back in Lisbon, the Brazilian woman also claimed she tried to seek help from TAP but says she received no response from the Portuguese company. Instead, it was the Associação Portuguesa de Apoio à Vítima (APAV) that guided her in the case.
“I then sought support in Brazil, both psychological and legal, and filed a small claims lawsuit against the company for moral harassment and negligence,” she informed.
After the lawsuit was filed, TAP responded by offering the previously mentioned amount.
Three months after the incident, the woman stated she wanted to make the case public not only for the compensation she feels entitled to but also to warn other passengers and hold TAP accountable for the incident. Lawyer Nathália Magalhães told the newspaper O Globo that the case has entered the Special Civil Court (the small claims court in Brazil), seeking compensation of 50 thousand reais, about 8 thousand euros.
