Qantas suspends attendant over celebrity 'mile-high club' dispute
Qantas suspended one of its flight attendants without pay after she was accused of joining the "mile high club" with actor Ralph Fiennes. The Daily Mail of London writes that "other crew members" on the Jan. 24 flight from Darwin, Australia, to Mumbai claim the attendant in question "had a seven-mile-high fling in business class with The English Patient star. But she insists he followed her into the small cubicle where, with the door locked, she repelled his advances." Two crew members claim they saw the accused attendant talking to Fiennes and "waited outside and caught the pair leaving. They reported the incident to a senior crew member," the Daily Mail writes.
The attendant, however, explained her side of the story to Qantas management in a statement –- which was then leaked to a Sydney newspaper. In the statement, the attendant says: "While conversing with Mr. Fiennes during my break, I expressed a need to go to the toilet. I entered it, he followed me and entered the same toilet. I explained to him that this was inappropriate and asked him to leave. Mr. Fiennes became amorous towards me and, after a short period of time, I convinced him to leave the toilet. I left a short time later. At no time did any crew member come to my assistance. At no time were any other customers aware of this incident. At no time did I put the Qantas name or reputation in jeopardy." Fiennes could not be reached for comment by the Daily Mail.