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Randi Zuckerberg has called out an airline after saying she was sexually harassed on their flight

Alaska Airlines says it has launched an investigation into the incident reported by the tech entrepreneur.
Alaska Airlines says it has launched an investigation into the incident reported by the tech entrepreneur. Alaska Airlines says it has launched an investigation into the incident reported by the tech entrepreneur.

An airline has launched an investigation after a letter from Silicon Valley entrepreneur Randi Zuckerberg saying she had been sexually harassed on one of their planes went viral.

The founder of Zuckerberg Media said she was subjected to “repeated lewd sexual remarks” by a passenger seated next to her on an Alaska Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Mexico, but that flight attendants “brushed off his behaviour”.

She tweeted: “Feeling disgusted & degraded after an @AlaskaAir flight where the passenger next to me made repeated lewd sexual remarks. The flight attendants told me he was a frequent flier, brushed off his behaviour & kept giving him drinks. I guess his $ means more than our safety?”

Zuckerberg, who is the sister of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, claimed that as soon as she boarded the plane the man began making an array of inappropriate comments including talking “about touching himself” during the three-hour flight.

But when she complained to the onboard staff about the man’s behaviour, she said they didn’t take her seriously. She said: “Their response was that this guy was a frequent Alaska Airlines traveller on this exact route, and that they have had to talk to him about his behaviour in the past.”

Zuckerberg said that eventually the cabin crew offered her a seat at the back of the plane, but did not take it as she felt she should not have to move because of the man’s behaviour.

She ended the letter by saying she was “furious with Alaska Airlines for knowingly and willingly providing this man with a platform to harass women”, and for “being more concerned with taking his money than for the safety and security of the other passengers around him”.

She received praise on social media for speaking out on the matter.

Alaska Airlines said it had launched an investigation into the incident and “revoked this passenger’s travel privileges” in the meantime.

The airline said in a statement: “What Randi Zuckerberg shared with us is very disturbing. The safety and well-being of our guests on Alaska Airlines is our number one priority.”

It added that the company has a “zero tolerance for any type of sexual misconduct that creates an unsafe environment for our guests and crew members”.

The airline also tweeted Zuckerberg to discuss the matter further.

After tweeting her complaint, she followed up with an update saying she had “just got off the phone with two executives from Alaska Airline”.