Texas woman falls asleep on Las Vegas United flight. Then she wakes up, and realizes what flight attendant did with her backpack.

A woman catches the internet's attention after sharing how a United Airlines flight attendant caused damage to her belongings while she was asleep.

On Sunday, @cactustate shared her experience with United Airlines in a viral TikTok that has amassed 1.4 million views as of Tuesday.

“I'm sitting in the airport so [expletive] angry that tears are coming out of my eyes 'cause United has me so [expletive] up,” she said.

How Were the Woman's Items Damaged on Her United Flight?

She explained that the issue occurred when she fell asleep in row 8A with her backpack between her legs. “And I get it,” she explained. “It's not supposed to be there, and it needs to go in the overhead bin.”

However, she said that the flight attendant hadn't woken her up to let her put her bag up herself.

“Instead, they just grabbed my bag, and they put it in the overhead bin without taking my tea out of the side,” she said.

She said that the tea spilled all over her laptop, headphones, wallet, and vape. However, the damage that caused her the most emotional pain was to her joke book.

“It's not like all my best work is in there,” she said sarcastically, “and my whole life story and everything brilliant I've ever written in that book.”

She then said that United Airlines claimed there was nothing she could do about the damage to her items.

“They won't even give me a plastic bag to put my dripping backpack in,” she said.

Overwhelmingly, commenters were angry on her behalf, encouraging her to file a claim for her damaged items.

“They have to reimburse… call corporate,” wrote one user. “It's a federal law.”

“As a flight attendant, I promise this is NOT OKAY and grabbing other people's bags without permission is literally against our job description,” added another. “So sorry this happened to you!”

Is United Airlines Liable for the Damage?

In actuality, there is nuance to some of the claims made by the commenters. Oftentimes, flight attendants are allowed to move improperly stowed carry-on items to comply with federal safety regulations. Additionally, federal regulations require carry-on baggage to be securely stowed. These regulations are in place to ensure items cannot shift during turbulence or obstruct the cabin. This means a backpack placed between a passenger's legs may need to be relocated to an overhead bin.

However, airlines generally expect crew members to exercise reasonable care when handling passengers' property. If a flight attendant placed a backpack containing an open drink into the overhead bin without checking for spills, a passenger could argue the damage resulted from negligent handling rather than an unavoidable accident.

Whether United is legally liable would depend on the specific facts and the airline's investigation. However, the passenger can file a claim with the carrier seeking reimbursement for damaged property. For domestic flights, federal regulations allow airlines to limit liability for provable damages to personal property in their custody to $4,700 per passenger.

That said, airlines' contracts of carriage may exclude or limit compensation for certain categories of valuables. This can include electronics, depending on the circumstances. That means United is not automatically required to pay for every damaged item. Still, it cannot simply dismiss a claim without reviewing whether the damage occurred while its employees were handling the passenger's belongings.

Generally, incidents involving flight attendants accidentally damaging carry-on luggage are relatively uncommon. Most publicly reported baggage complaints involve checked luggage rather than items moved inside the cabin.

Subplot News reached out to @cactustate for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to United Airlines via email. We will update this story if they respond.

@cactustate united can kiss my whole a$$ @United Airlines ♬ original sound – Tatum My Dude

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