IT
MAY
BE
OK
TO
ONCE
AGAIN
take
some
liquids
and
gels
aboard
airplanes,
but
gay
travelers
could
still
pose
a
little-known
risk
to
homeland
security:
engaging
in
public
displays
of
affection
on
transcontinental
flights.
An
American
Airlines
flight
crew
threatened
to
divert
a
Paris-to-New
York
flight
on
Aug.
22,
after
a
gay
couple,
Stephan
Varnier
and
George
Tsikhiseli,
began
complaining
about
being
asked
to
stop
kissing
each
other.
“He
would
rest
his
head
on
my
shoulder
or
the
other
way
around,”
Varnier
told
the
New
Yorker,
which
first
reported
the
incident
Sept.
25.
“We’d
kiss
— not
kiss
kiss,
just
mwah.”
Varnier,
who
worked
as
a
flight
attendant
for
American
from
2000
to
2004,
told
the
Blade
the
experience
was
“humiliating
and
insulting.”
“I
am
quite
familiar
with
what
is
considered
inappropriate
contact,
so
what
we
did
was
very
casual,”
Varnier
said.
American
Airlines
officials
declined
to
debate
details
about
exactly
what
Varnier
and
Tsikhiseli
were
doing
on
the
airplane,
but
said
that
several
independent
investigations
into
the
incident
absolved
the
flight
crew
of
any
wrongdoing.
“A
careful
review
of
the
records
indicates
that
the
actions
taken
by
the
crew
members
were
reasonable,
non-discriminatory
and
struck
the
right
balance
in
maintaining
a
safe,
comfortable
and
respectful
travel
experience
for
all
passengers
onboard
the
aircraft,”
American
Airlines
said
in
a
prepared
statement.
A
FLIGHT
ATTENDANT
FIRST
ASKED
the
gay
couple
to
stop
engaging
in
public
displays
of
affection
shortly
after
takeoff,
Varnier
said.
The
men
responded
by
complaining
to
a
customer
service
crew
member,
who
they
said
reportedly
was
“calm
and
professional”
to
the
men
until
they
suggested
that
they
wouldn’t
have
been
asked
to
stop
if
they
were
a
man
and
a
woman.
“She
got
defensive
when
the
word
‘discrimination’
came
up,”
Varnier
said,
The
crew
member
returned
to
the
couple’s
seating
area
about
a
half
hour
later
to
inform
them
that
other
passengers
had
complained
about
their
behavior
earlier
in
the
flight,
and
commotion
erupted
as
the
men
began
asking
which
of
their
fellow
passengers
complained.
Varnier
said
he
and
Tsikhiseli
responded
by
asking
for
the
flight
attendant’s
name
and
employee
number,
as
well
as
to
have
an
American
Airlines
official
meet
them
upon
landing.
“Everything
was
denied
to
us
—
it’s
like
we
had
no
rights
at
all,”
said
Varnier.
Later
in
the
flight,
the
gay
men
received
another
warning
from
the
captain
to
cooperate
with
the
flight
crew
or
else
the
plane
would
be
diverted,
and
they
eventually
received
a
letter
from
American
saying
they
engaged
in
“heavy
physical
contact,”
Varnier
said.
AMERICAN
AIRLINES,
which
bills
itself
as
the
world’s
largest
airline,
disputed
the
gay
couple’s
story.
“We
think
the
New
Yorker
piece
was
fairly
one-sided,”
Mary
Sanderson,
director
of
corporate
communications
for
the
company,
told
the
Blade.
Independent
of
the
company’s
investigation
into
the
incident,
Sanderson
noted
that
the
airline’s
gay
and
lesbian
employee
group,
GLEAM,
reviewed
all
of
the
crew
and
witness
statements
and
records
from
the
Aug.
22
flight
and
also
determined
that
the
actions
taken
were
not
discriminatory.
“Our
assessment
based
on
the
accounts
we
have
read
is
that
the
crewmembers
acted
reasonably,”
the
gay
employee
group
said
in
a
prepared
statement.
The
Human
Rights
Campaign
also
vouched
for
the
American
Airlines
crew,
and
noted
that
the
company
has
received
a
perfect
score
on
its
corporate
equality
index
for
the
last
five
years.
“Their
review
was
fair
and
complete,
and
uncovered
no
bias
in
the
crew’s
response,”
Daryl
Herrschaft,
director
of
HRC’s
Workplace
Project,
said
in
a
prepared
statement.
