Minnesota woman sues Delta after being punched by drunken passenger midflight

A Minneapolis woman is suing Delta Air Lines, claiming the airline is responsible for a drunken passenger assaulting her on an October flight from Puerto Rico to Atlanta.

Minnie Holmes, 72, filed a federal lawsuit last week alleging Delta flight attendants served alcoholic drinks to two passengers despite obvious signs of drunkenness. Holmes said one of the passengers, a man seated in the row ahead of her, punched her in the chest following a dispute over a reclined seat.

In a statement, a Delta spokesperson said the company does not comment on pending litigation, but the airline has “zero tolerance” for customers behaving in an inappropriate or unlawful manner.

Delta trains flight attendants to identify and discontinue service to intoxicated passengers according to the company. Federal law prohibits serving alcohol to a passenger who appears to be intoxicated.

According to the lawsuit, Holmes went on vacation while grieving the recent death of her son. She and her daughter were traveling home when they had the run-in with a man and a woman seated in front of them.

The passengers were being disruptive during the flight, according to the lawsuit, yelling and using foul language. At one point, Holmes’ daughter asked the woman to move her seat up, and she refused.

A “loud retort” from the reclined passenger prompted a Delta flight attendant to address the situation, the lawsuit says. Holmes claims the flight attendant left after telling the passenger she could recline her seat.

Flight attendants continued to serve the man and woman alcoholic beverages, the lawsuit alleges, even as they “were obviously intoxicated, disruptive and a foreseeable danger to other passengers on the flight.”

Later, as Holmes’ daughter was retrieving an item from a bag, the lawsuit says, the man seated ahead of them “reached behind his seat and forcibly punched” Holmes in the chest.

Four Delta employees intervened and moved the two passengers to different seats, according to the lawsuit. Holmes says all four — she, her daughter and the two passengers in front of them — were escorted from the plane upon landing, and police were waiting at the gate.

The lawsuit does not name the other passengers involved. The flight number referenced in the lawsuit, DL1946, runs twice daily between Atlanta and San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to flight tracking website Flightera.net.

The lawsuit accuses Delta of a pattern of overserving passengers, citing four other legal cases involving intoxicated passengers who engaged in violence, assault or serious misconduct.

The most recent, a lawsuit filed in July 2023, alleged a drunk passenger on a flight from New York to Greece made obscene gestures toward and inappropriately touched a 16-year-old girl seated next to him. The family, which sued Delta anonymously, claimed flight attendants served the man 10 vodkas before he “loudly” vomited in the bathroom — and then served him red wine.

Two other cases involved men accused of sexually assaulting female passengers while drinking heavily. In one, a 69-year-old man was convicted of felony assault for touching a 15-year-old girl’s thigh for two minutes while she sat beside him.

In a statement, Holmes and her lawyer said Holmes’ case demonstrates Delta needs to improve passenger safety.

“We believe Delta failed to take basic steps to prevent this from happening and created a situation that put others at risk, resulting in an assault,” attorney Naomi Martin said.

Holmes said in the statement that the trip to Puerto Rico was meant to help her cope with her son’s death.

“Instead, the traumatic event on the Delta flight home made things worse,” she said. “I decided to come forward because I believe Delta needs to do better to protect passengers like me.”