Dubai:
An Australian man is suing Etihad Airways for 227,000 Australian dollars (Dh608,598) claiming he injured his back after he was forced to sit next to a “grossly overweight” passenger on a long flight with airline.
Australia’s Courier Mail reported on Thursday Etihad lost its bid to have the James Andrew Bassos’s case thrown out of a court in Brisbane, Queensland.
Basso claims he suffered a back injury and aggravated a pre-existing injury after he was forced to twist and contort his body to avoid contact with the “grossly overweight person” seated next to him in economy on an Etihad flight from Abu Dhabi to Sydney in 2010.
Brisbane Judge Fleur Kingham reportedly rejected Etihad’s application to have the case thrown out and said that she was not satisfied that Basso’s claim had no real prospects of success. Kingham has ordered Basso, who is from Queensland but works in the UAE, to submit a medical examination by a specialist when he returns in December.
Etihad said on Thursday it “will continue to oppose the action.”
“Now that Bassos will finally face a medical assessment in December 2015, as directed by court, we believe that the matter will proceed to an early conclusion. The safety and comfort of Etihad Airways’ passengers and crew is of paramount importance and the airline has a zero-tolerance policy towards unruly behaviour,” the spokesperson told Gulf News by email.
