A gay couple in Virginia is suing United-Continental airlines after the two men found a large dildo had been removed from their checked checked luggage and taped to the top of their suitcase - and then sent down to the baggage pickup carousel.
Christopher Bridgeman and Martin Borger say baggage handlers at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport invaded their privacy and targeted them for humiliation because of their sexuality.
They are seeking punitive damages to hold the airline accountable, they say, after officials refused to respond to their complaints.
Blogger Michael Hamar, who is friends with the couple, first wrote about the 'mortifying' experience shortly after it happened in May 2011.
Mr Bridgeman and Mr Borger said they were returning home to their native Norfolk, Virginia, from a vacation to Costa Rica when they stopped at the Houston airport for a connecting flight.
They picked up their bags in Houston, as required for international flights, and then checked them again for their trip back to Virginia.
They were standing around the baggage carousel in Norfolk with the other passengers from their plane, when the defaced bag appeared.
It was wrapped in clear tape that had the Continental airlines logo on it. The purple sex toy was prominently attached to the top.
What's more, they say, some sort of foul-smelling grease had been smeared on it to make it appear that it had been 'used.'
'SO EMBARRASSED, ABSOLUTELY MORTIFIED... just knowing that everyone in sight had already seen it and after looking at their faces that depicted disbelief, some were snickering, others completely astonished, and of course, disgust was ubiquitous,' they wrote in an e-mail to Mr Hamar.
There was no reason for the sex toy to have been removed from the bag and no reason for the bag to be bound in tape, the couple says.
The zippers on the luggage were intact and working fine and the sex toy had been secured inside the bag.
The only reason the object was removed, they say, is because the airline baggage handlers realized it was in a bag that had a man's name on the luggage tag.
Read more: Christopher Bridgeman and Martin Borger sue United-Continental airlines | Mail Online
Christopher Bridgeman and Martin Borger say baggage handlers at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport invaded their privacy and targeted them for humiliation because of their sexuality.
They are seeking punitive damages to hold the airline accountable, they say, after officials refused to respond to their complaints.
Blogger Michael Hamar, who is friends with the couple, first wrote about the 'mortifying' experience shortly after it happened in May 2011.
Mr Bridgeman and Mr Borger said they were returning home to their native Norfolk, Virginia, from a vacation to Costa Rica when they stopped at the Houston airport for a connecting flight.
They picked up their bags in Houston, as required for international flights, and then checked them again for their trip back to Virginia.
They were standing around the baggage carousel in Norfolk with the other passengers from their plane, when the defaced bag appeared.
It was wrapped in clear tape that had the Continental airlines logo on it. The purple sex toy was prominently attached to the top.
What's more, they say, some sort of foul-smelling grease had been smeared on it to make it appear that it had been 'used.'
'SO EMBARRASSED, ABSOLUTELY MORTIFIED... just knowing that everyone in sight had already seen it and after looking at their faces that depicted disbelief, some were snickering, others completely astonished, and of course, disgust was ubiquitous,' they wrote in an e-mail to Mr Hamar.
There was no reason for the sex toy to have been removed from the bag and no reason for the bag to be bound in tape, the couple says.
The zippers on the luggage were intact and working fine and the sex toy had been secured inside the bag.
The only reason the object was removed, they say, is because the airline baggage handlers realized it was in a bag that had a man's name on the luggage tag.
Read more: Christopher Bridgeman and Martin Borger sue United-Continental airlines | Mail Online
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