Plane Passenger Claims Flight Attendant 'Wrongfully Accused’ Them of Vaping in Bathroom: 'Extremely Shaken'

A plane passenger is recounting a harrowing incident in which they claim they were wrongfully accused of vaping in the bathroom.

The traveler, who shared the experience that left them shaken up on Reddit, began by providing some pertinent background info that they "do not vape, I have never vaped, I do not own a vape, and I have never owned a vape."

They also claim they have a “documented genetic lung disease” that deters them from ever picking up an electronic cigarette. The poster then got into exactly what they say happened on their United flight from Las Vegas to Denver.

“As soon as the seatbelt sign was turned off, I got up from my seat to use the restroom and to put in my contact lenses," they wrote. After using the bathroom, they washed their hands and started putting in their lenses.

The user continues, “While I was opening the packaging on the second contact lens there was a knock-knock-knock on the door to which I responded, ‘Yes, I am in here.’ As I was putting in the second lens, there was a second knock-knock-knock to which I responded even louder, ‘Yes I am in here. I am almost done.’”

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The passenger notes that the repeated knocking left them “flustered” so they quickly stuck the lens plastic in their pocket and opened the door to find the back galley of the plane “full of flight attendants.”

A flight attendant then approached the traveler and allegedly asked “in a very hostile tone” what they were doing in the bathroom. When the surprised passenger didn’t immediately answer, they claim, the crew member asked the question again in a “louder and more hostile” way.

The passenger says that the flight attendant then directly asked them, “Were you vaping in the bathroom?” to which the poster responded, “No, I was putting in my contact lenses.”

The crew member then allegedly told them, “We know you were vaping in the lavatory. The alarm went off. Show me the vape.” The passenger denied having any sort of e-cigarette and showed them everything they had in their pockets to prove it.

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“I walked back towards my seat very shaken while the flight attendant said, ‘Search the bathroom!’ to one of the other flight attendants," they wrote in their post. "There was never any audible alarm, and the pilot never made any announcements about vaping. Nobody said anything else to me the rest of the flight.”

The passenger emphasized that they were “extremely shaken by the incident” due to the “severity of [the punishment for] vaping on planes.”

The passenger adds that their husband told them to file a complaint after hearing what happened as “he thinks this is a classic example of flight attendants going on a power trip.”

A representative for United declined to comment on the alleged incident.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, passengers are allowed to travel with electronic cigarettes as long as they are packed in a carry-on. Passengers are prohibited from using or charging the device at any point during the flight.

“FAA regulations prohibit smoking, including the use of electronic cigarettes, on board airliners,” the FAA said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. "Passengers who violate federal vaping laws could face fines up to $1,771.”

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The passenger concluded the post by asking for their fellow Reddit users’ advice on how they should handle the situation.

“Call and complain, might get some miles,” one person said in the comments. Another user echoed the message by recalling how they were once wrongfully accused of smoking in a hotel room.

“I was issued a refund for the $500 charge and points,” they wrote. “Obviously, this isn’t the same scenario, but maybe it might spark you to think of something else. Good luck!”

Another user recalled witnessing a similar incident while traveling.

“I’ve seen flight attendants go after people in the bathroom about vaping but the two times I’ve seen them gang up to accost someone, the passenger handed over the vape. The flight attendants were brutal however . . . chastising them all the way back to their seat in front of everyone.”

Related: Vaping — Even Without Nicotine — Has an Immediate Negative Effect on Lungs, Research Shows

PEOPLE spoke with travel advisor Nicole Campoy Jackson of Fora Travel to get her expert opinion on how a situation like this should be approached.

"Personally, I would have two reactions. Like the passenger in question, I would first wonder if this had been some big misunderstanding and if it might negatively impact my status with the airline," Jackson says. "And then, I would realize I'd been wrongly accused of something that is very easily verifiable."

She agrees with the passenger's husband in that filing a complaint is the right way to go.

If the passenger was wrongly accused, she says, "They should be compensated in some way whether that's a complimentary cabin upgrade, status upgrade, or a month's (or year's!) worth of lounge access. I can't say what accommodation would benefit them most, but the airline should want to do right by their frequent and loyal passenger."

Jackson also notes that the way the flight attendant handled the ordeal is "unsettling."

"It's incredibly strange that a flight attendant would accuse a passenger so strongly of behaviors that were unseen, unheard, and unverified. What's more, the attendant didn't apologize or do anything to make it right after the fact," she says. "Flight attendants are the people that we passengers turn to to help us mediate a whole host of in-air situations, so to see them creating a situation like this unnecessarily is unsettling. "

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