Delta Air Lines
Delta Air LinesiStock

Ida Gomez Llanos, 79, was a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines for 57 years before being suspended in April 2019 and later fired for stealing a carton of milk from a plane.

However, Llanos claims that the milk was just an excuse and the Huntington Beach, CA resident has filed a wrongful termination against Delta Airlines, claiming that she was fired due to age discrimination and the jealousy of other flight attendants.

Llanos was earning $250,000 per year due to yearly salary raises, which is four times the average salary of Delta flight attendants. She also had her pick of shifts and overtime and other perks due to her seniority. Llanos claims that before she was fired she experienced discrimination due to her age and sex, was harassed and bullied by supervisors and coworkers, and was the victim of false accusations.

"Ms. Gomez was a loyal, diligent, hardworking Delta employee for more than five decades," said Carney Shegerian, of Los Angeles-based employee rights firm Shegerian and Associates, in a statement. "Delta's alleged actions should not be tolerated, and it must be held accountable for the discrimination, retaliation and harassment alleged in Ms. Gomez's lawsuit."

Delta claims that Llanos was written up for taking nine packs of cereal in 2018, additional incidents occurred, she was placed on probation and was suspended after she stole the carton of milk. Llanos counterclaimed that the incidents were staged sabotage by fellow flight attendants who were jealous of her.

“When a violation of company policy is identified or inappropriate conduct is reported, Delta conducts a thorough investigation to determine the course of action – considering many factors, including the employee’s overall performance record and length of service," Delta stated."Decisions like these are not made lightly or without a comprehensive review by many.”