A Virgin Atlantic pilot who was dismissed after touching a junior cabin crew member's thigh and sending her unwanted hotel room messages has lost his claim for unfair dismissal. Chris Moore, a Senior First Officer with 27 years of service, argued he was sacked because of a prostate cancer diagnosis, but an employment tribunal rejected this claim.
Incident in Los Angeles
The allegations were made by a junior female colleague, referred to as Person W, and centred on a crew day off in Los Angeles in 2023. During a crew dinner at a pizza restaurant, Moore placed his hand on W's thigh under the table on two separate occasions. He later sent her WhatsApp messages inviting her to his hotel room for sex and then to the hotel bar. When she declined, Moore pushed for a drink at the hotel bar, saying, "There's always a guy at home" after W mentioned she had a partner.
The disciplinary manager concluded that the physical contact was deliberate, unwanted, and caused distress. The messages were deemed unwelcome, intimidating, and inappropriate given Moore's senior rank and the fact that they were due to fly a safety-critical return flight together the next day.
Defence and dismissal
Moore attempted to justify his behaviour by claiming W was heavily intoxicated, "flirty," and had sent him signals. He alleged she had tweaked his nipples earlier at a bottomless brunch, which she denied. He also accused witnesses of lying and being part of a "conspiracy" to obtain compensation. In his defence, Moore stated, "Essentially this is not something I would do, if I did touch her, it was by way of just gesticulation."
Following an investigation and disciplinary process, Moore was dismissed for gross misconduct after both allegations were upheld. An appeal was rejected, and Moore then brought an employment tribunal claim for victimisation and disability discrimination, arguing he was dismissed because of his prostate cancer diagnosis.
Tribunal throws out claims
The employment tribunal dismissed all of Moore's victimisation claims, concluding that the appeal manager's actions were justified. The tribunal also threw out the disability discrimination claim, noting that the decision to dismiss for misconduct had been made months before Moore disclosed he was undergoing testing for cancer. A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: "We welcome the Employment Tribunal’s verdict to uphold our decision. The safety and welfare of our people and our customers is always our number one priority and we do not tolerate any behaviour that compromises this. We have a strict code of conduct for our people which they must adhere to, and any breach of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including immediate dismissal."
