After a long day in the airport, Tiarra Dowell just wanted to board her Spirit Airlines flight comfortably and head home. Unfortunately, the Detroit native claims that because of her race, a “Russian” woman refused to let her sit next to her. 

In a series of Facebook posts, Dowell shared her experiences that left her feeling “so embarrassed and heartbroken” after she boarded a Chicago flight on June 25 from Las Vegas. 

According to Dowell, upon boarding the flight, Spirit Airlines flight attendants gave her a seat next to a woman, who then began “arguing with the flight attendant” about the seat assignment. 

Dowell said that thankfully there were other passengers aboard the plane who switched seats with her. Not so ironically, she said the woman had no complaints when a white college students sat next to her, leading her to believe the woman’s refusal was racially motivated. 

“I have never experienced this before,” she said the now viral Facebook post. “So appreciative of the other passengers who just rallied around me, held my hand and really prayed with me. This 4 hour flight is about to feel like a lifetime.”

After landing in Chicago, Dowell confronted the women, who allegedly gave the excuse that “she thought the plane was already boarded and no one told her that she would have to sit next to anyone.”

The woman also allegedly requested a supervisor to complain after passengers booed her and called her a racist. 

Dowell said Spirit Airlines handled her situation poorly after “attendants thanked [her] multiple times for being a team player.” 

“Obviously her being comfortable was more important, maybe I was asking for too much. ????????‍♀️ Thanks #spiritairlines, the worst experience ever!” 

In response, Spirit Airlines told Yahoo Lifestyle that it has taken action to rectify the incident and that the airline has “zero tolerance for discrimination of any kinds on our flights.”