A pregnant woman who asked a flight attendant to lift her bag into the overhead locker was stunned when her request was declined.
Dominique Elissa, a 31-year-old model and influencer, said she asked the male staff member for help, but was instead told to check the 4kg bag in.
‘I asked the flight attendant, “Can you please put my bag above my head, like I’m pregnant?”,’ she told the Big Small Talk podcast.
‘It wasn’t heavy and wasn’t a big bag, but the flight attendant said, “Sorry, I can’t help you”.
Ms Elissa, whose husband Tom had told her not to lift her bag before she left, said the staff member still refused to help even though she explained she was pregnant.
“I said, “Well I’m actually pregnant, so I’d really appreciate it if you could help me because last time I injured myself”,’ she said.
‘And he goes, “Well, if you’re not able to lift your bag above your head, you have to check it in”.’
‘I was just so shocked.’
Dominique Elissa, who is pregnant, asked a flight attendant to lift her bag into the overhead locker was stunned when her request was declined
Ms Elissa – who did not identify the airline – eventually stored her bag in the overhead locker herself, but struggled to take it down after the journey.
Fortunately for her, a fellow passenger offered to help.
‘I was texting Tom like, “I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to get my bag down because the flight attendant didn’t come and help me”,’ she said.
‘The guy next to me, I think he saw my text messages.
‘He’s like, “Would you like me to get your bag?”.’
She said the interaction reinforced her belief that pregnant women are often overlooked.
‘I feel this lack of respect for pregnant women at the moment now that I’m pregnant.’
Jetstar’s website states that passengers ‘need to be able to lift and carry your own bags’.
Meanwhile, Qantas cabin crew are not expected to help passengers lift bags into overhead lockers, while Virgin Australia staff are also generally not required to do so because of the risk of injury.
Elissa said she asked the male staff member for help, but was instead told to check the 4kg bag in. It turns out it is often workplace health and safety policy
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Should airlines do more to support pregnant passengers, or are staff right to stick to strict rules?
Many Aussies felt it was the passenger’s responsibility to carry their own bags.
‘It’s not their jobs to lift your bags,’ one said.
‘It’s not a respect thing, it’s a rules thing,’ a second said.
‘If you can’t carry it, don’t take it,’ another said.
Others said it was due to airline policy.
‘We are not allowed to put passengers bags/luggage in the overhead locker due to workplace health and safety,’ one said.
‘If the bag is too heavy for you to lift, it is too heavy for us to carry and we are not allowed to help with bags,’ a second said.
