An employment tribunal has determined that British Airways wrongfully terminated a cabin crew member who faced accusations of masturbating beside a female colleague at Heathrow Airport.
Okan Dalkiran was taken into custody on board a BA aircraft following claims that he had engaged in the act within the airline's staff rest facility during an overnight stay in August 2023.
The airline subsequently dismissed him, despite Mr Dalkiran being acquitted of criminal charges at court.
A tribunal sitting in Watford has now concluded that his sacking was unjust, finding that BA lacked adequate grounds to accept the allegation against him.
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The ruling found the airline's internal investigation failed to properly scrutinise the evidence before reaching its conclusions.
The alleged incident took place around midnight on 15 August 2023, when Mr Dalkiran was resting in a large open-plan bunking room that served as the crew's overnight accommodation at the airport.
A female colleague, identified only as X in proceedings, claimed she heard a "loud clapping sound" emanating from the adjacent bed.
She alleged that upon looking over, she observed Mr Dalkiran with bedsheets pulled up to his waist, allegedly pleasuring himself.
British Airways wrongfully terminated a cabin crew member who faced accusations of masturbating beside a female colleague, a tribunal has ruled
|GETTY
The woman also maintained that he had been watching her through gaps in the partitions separating the beds.
She stated that she "froze for 10 seconds" before feigning to search for something and exiting the room.
After meeting another colleague outside, she informed him of what she had witnessed, though he confirmed he had not observed anything himself.
The pair returned inside to find Mr Dalkiran asleep, prompting the woman to relocate to a different bed.
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Okan Dalkiran was taken into custody on board a BA aircraft in August 2023
|GETTY
Approximately 10 minutes later, she sent a text message to a friend describing what she claimed to have seen, and reported the matter to management the following day.
A fortnight after the alleged incident, police arrested Mr Dalkiran whilst he was aboard an aircraft with no passengers present, escorting him through the terminal without handcuffs.
He was subsequently charged with intentionally exposing himself with the intent to cause alarm and distress.
During the investigation, Mr Dalkiran told his employer: "I do not know who [X] is. It's possible it happened there but it wasn't me."
Mr Dalkiran also participated in an identity parade, during which the complainant failed to identify him.
His trial proceeded at Uxbridge magistrates' court in November 2023, though BA sent no representative to observe the proceedings.
Magistrates acquitted Mr Dalkiran after considering body-worn camera footage of the location, the dim lighting conditions, and the restricted visibility caused by blankets covering the partitions between beds.
They also noted that other occupants of the room had neither seen nor heard what the complainant described.
BA dismissed Mr Dalkiran on 9 April 2024, with two subsequent internal appeals upholding the decision.
Employment Judge Sally Cowen ruled that the airline's disciplinary manager had improperly relied upon the complainant appearing distressed as evidence of credibility, stating this was "not sufficient to reason on its own to find that X should be believed."
The tribunal concluded the investigator's belief "was not reasonable and her decision was unsafe."
Compensation will be determined at a subsequent hearing.
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