MIDNIGHT KNOCKING Flight attendant launches second suit against Westjet

Posted on 04/05/2016

A former flight attendant has launched a second lawsuit against WestJet, potentially a class-action case, accusing the airline of allowing a workplace culture that is permissive of harassment. Mandalena Lewis filed her first lawsuit against WestJet earlier this year over allegations the airline didn't take proper action after she reported being sexually assaulted by a pilot while on a stopover in Hawaii.

She says she decided to file the latest lawsuit after former colleagues came to her with their stories of workplace harassment.She says in a court document that the workplace culture includes attitudes by some male pilots that female attendants are, or ought to be, sexually available.Lewis refers in the document to a practice known as “midnight knocking,” which is defined as a request or demand for sexual favours by pilots while on a stopover.

None of the allegations have been tested in court.A spokeswoman for WestJet said in an email that the company is not in a position to comment because it hasn't been served with a notice of claim.