A California mother says she was left “violated” on a British Airways red-eye flight in June when a crew member lifted her nursing cover without consent, exposing her while she breastfed her infant daughter.
Shayanne Wright, a Costa Mesa business owner and city commissioner, was traveling alone with her then 7-month-old on the long-haul flight.
She says she alerted the crew ahead of meal service that she would be nursing her baby to sleep and asked for her meal to be served afterward, a request she says was denied.
During meal service, Wright says the attendant tapped her thigh several times. “I stuck my hand out to wave him away,” she recalled. “Then, without asking, he lifts the nursing cover up completely. It wakes her up. Both my boobs are out. And he doesn’t even apologize. He goes, ‘Do you want your meal?’”
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Wright described further unwanted physical contact during the flight, including repeated touches on her leg and attempts to fasten her seatbelt for her. “There was just a very hostile, physically invasive vibe,” she said.
British Airways has acknowledged receiving Wright’s complaint. In a statement to FOX Business, the airline said: “We have looked into these allegations and have been in contact with our customer directly to resolve the matter.” Wright disputes that, saying the airline never directly apologized and instead offered gift cards of $250 and later $1,000.
“It honestly felt like I was complaining about a broken headset,” she said. “It’s taken threatening legal action to get them to pay attention.”
Frustrated by what she describes as a form response, Wright turned to Reddit’s r/breastfeeding community. Her viral post struck a nerve, racking up more than 600,000 views.
“It was extremely validating,” she said. “So many women urging me not to let it go gave me the confidence to push forward.”
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Wright says she has characterized the incident to the airline as sexual harassment.
“That’s what it was,” she said, though she emphasizes that her original hope was for training and accountability rather than punishment. “At the beginning, my best-case scenario was that they would implement sensitivity training around this. They’ve just totally avoided any semblance of accountability.”
Some questioned her decision to travel with an infant in business class. Wright rejects that: “I paid the same amount of money as everybody else. I was wearing a cover. I waved him away. There’s nothing else I could have done differently.”
She also reminds those who do not support young families traveling the legality of breastfeeding in public. “Feeding your baby is a basic need. A cover isn’t even required. It’s legal to do everywhere, and most airlines allow it regardless.”
Both U.S. and U.K. regulations explicitly protect the rights of breastfeeding mothers when flying.
In the United States, the TSA exempts breast milk and formula from standard liquid restrictions, and in the U.K., breastfeeding is protected under the Equality Act 2010.
While the airline’s website lacks a dedicated breastfeeding policy, Condé Nast Traveler reported that British Airways said, “We carry thousands of infants and their families on our flights every year … And we welcome breastfeeding on board.”
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For Wright, the experience has solidified her determination to speak out. “Never apologize for protecting that space you’re creating for your child with nursing,” she said.
While she vows never to fly British Airways again, her message to airlines is simple: “Just because someone is nursing, that’s not an invitation to touch them, their cover, or their baby. Stay away from that space.”
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