Woman Says United Airlines Didn't Alert Police Over Seatmate's Lewd Act, Gave Only $100 Credit

Credit: Joel Serre | Shutterstock Published Sep 23, 2026, 3:29 AM EDT Luke has over a decade of experience as a travel writer and aviation analyst. As a passionate traveler based across the Middle East and Asia, Luke offers strong insights into the industry. Based in South East Asia. Sign in to your Simple Flying account A woman on board a United Airlines flight claims she was told to return to her seat after reporting the man beside her for performing lewd acts. After informing flight attendants that the man was masturbating, the woman was permitted to remain standing for part of the flight, but was then ordered to return to her seat for landing. The incident occurred during a short flight from Rochester to Newark earlier this month. The female passenger added that the airline apparently did not inform police of the incident and let the man leave freely, then offered her an "insulting" $100 in flight credit. Female United Passenger Told To Return To Indecent Seatmate Credit: Habanero Pixel | Shutterstock The 25-year-old woman, a pediatric crisis therapist from western New York, was traveling on United Express Flight 3626 from Rochester International Airport (ROC) to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) on September 3. This early morning rotation was operated by an Embraer E175; it departed Rochester at 6:13 AM local time and was in the air for just 44 minutes before landing in Newark at 6:57 AM. She told NBC News that the man was engaging in acts of "public masturbation" in the seat next to her before she got up and reported him to the cabin crew. It is not clear what actions the cabin crew took at this stage, although the woman says she was allowed to remain standing for a portion of the flight. Date September 3, 2026 Flight United 3626 Airline United Express (operated by Republic Airways) Aircraft Embraer E175 From: Rochester International Airport To: Newark Liberty International Airport As the flight approached Newark, she was told to return to her seat for landing. With no other free seats available, the woman was ordered to return to her original seat next to the man. Despite telling flight attendants she would "feel uncomfortable doing that," she was told it would only be for five minutes. However, the landing process reportedly took longer, and her seat was near the back of the plane, so she had to endure the man's company for much longer. The man was described as being around 35–40 years old and "pretty normal looking." The female passenger added: "I just got the sense he had done it before ... People don’t just do those things at 6:00 AM. It is the first time I’ve been purposely trapped by people who were supposed to be helping me." Man Allowed To Leave Without Police Intervention Credit: Leif Ingvarson | Shutterstock The woman said the male passenger was not stopped at any point and was able to deplane at Newark. After landing, the woman said she was further upset by how United staff handled the incident. She reported the incident to a United gate agent, who reportedly responded, "What am I supposed to do about it?" The agent then said it was the passenger's responsibility to file a report with the police. Another United employee subsequently informed her that the correct protocols were not followed during the incident, and advised her to submit a complaint to the airline. She also filed complaints with the FAA and the FBI, as crimes committed on aircraft fall under the jurisdiction of the latter agency. The man's actions could fall under 49 U.S.C. § 46506, which legislates against lewd, indecent, or obscene acts on US aircraft in flight and carries a sentence of up to 90 days in jail. United Offers Email Response And $100 Flight Credit Credit: bluestork | Shutterstock United responded to the woman's complaints by email but declined to speak with her by phone, and also did not confirm whether the incident had been documented by the crew. She received a $100 flight credit from the airline, which covered only a quarter of her $400 trip cost. United was involved in a related scandal in 2018 when it offered a female passenger just $75 after a male seatmate beside her exposed himself on a flight to Chicago O'Hare (ORD), with Chicago police later confirming the airline had not contacted them. Earlier this month, Simple Flying reported on an American Airlines flight that was met by police after a female passenger stripped naked and began committing indecent acts. On this occasion, the woman was arrested by authorities in Miami.