WestJet investigates after passenger says he was fat shamed by staff

A WestJet passenger says what was meant to be a relaxing Christmas Eve flight to Mexico turned into an upsetting experience after he claims he was fat shamed by a flight attendant.

Dave Rogers and his wife were travelling to Mexico for the holidays when the incident occurred near the end of their WestJet flight.

Rogers said the trip began normally despite stormy weather.

“It was a real stormy day that day. We wondered whether we were going or not, but the flight was on time and it was just a normal flight,” Rogers said.

Rogers said one flight attendant had earlier offered the couple two cans of pop instead of a single cup, which he described as a kind gesture.

However, he says the situation changed during the final descent when another flight attendant came by to collect garbage.

“As he came close, he had the bag there and he looked at me and sort of gestured, two? Then, I nodded and he puffed up his cheeks like this and then with his hand he gestured like a large stomach, a large tummy.”

Rogers, a 23 year military veteran, said the gesture caught him completely off guard.

“You hear about it a lot these days that people get offended and not much happened. I never thought I’d be in that position myself,” he said.

After the flight, Rogers said he discussed the incident with his wife and other passengers before travelling on to Mazatlán.

He later contacted WestJet, which apologized but told him no compensation could be offered due to a lack of evidence.

Global News followed up with WestJet, which said in a statement that it is reviewing the matter.

“WestJet takes matters of this nature very seriously; the guest’s allegations have been escalated for internal review to ensure appropriate action is taken. We hope to resolve this situation directly with the guest.”