A British Airways cabin crew member who was sacked after being accused of masturbating near a colleague has been found to have been unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Okan Dalkiran was arrested on board an aircraft at Heathrow Airport in 2023 after a female colleague, referred to as 'X', alleged he had been masturbating in the staff rest centre. She claimed she heard a loud clapping sound and saw him masturbating with bedsheets drawn up to his waist. Despite being cleared of wrongdoing in court, Mr Dalkiran was dismissed from his position and pursued a case at an employment tribunal.
The tribunal in Watford ruled that the disciplinary process had relied too heavily on the woman's distress as proof, without adequately scrutinising the evidence. Employment Judge Sally Cowen noted that the investigation failed to consider that no other witnesses heard or saw anything, and that CCTV and lighting conditions limited visibility. The judge also criticised the handling of reputational damage claims, pointing out that Mr Dalkiran was not handcuffed and there were no passengers on the plane when police approached him.
Mr Dalkiran was acquitted at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court in November 2023. Magistrates examined the evidence and found it insufficient. BA's internal appeals upheld the dismissal, but the tribunal concluded that the belief in his guilt was not reasonable and the decision was unsafe.
