Lufthansa to Face Lawsuit After Allegedly Outing Gay Couple to Saudi Authorities

«No conceivable way» Saudi officials could have learned of marriage other than via Lufthansa, suit alleges.

A U.S. appeals court has cleared the way for a gay couple to sue Lufthansa, after they claimed an airline manager publicly humiliated them at Riyadh airport and exposed their marriage to the Saudi authorities, putting one husband, a Saudi national, at risk of severe punishment in a country where homosexuality remains criminalised.

Lufthansa will face a lawsuit brought by a gay couple who accuse the airline of exposing their marriage to the Saudi government, after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on Thursday that a California federal district court has jurisdiction to hear the case, despite the central events having taken place at Riyadh airport, according to LGBTQ Nation.

The couple, identified in court papers as John Doe and Robert Roe, filed suit in 2024. One man is a US citizen and the other a Saudi national; they had been in a «committed, but discreet» relationship for 33 years and married in California in 2013, per LGBTQ Nation. As the couple spent most of the year living in Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality has been treated as a capital offence, they kept their relationship hidden from the government, employers, friends and family.

The dispute arose in May 2021, when the couple booked a Lufthansa flight from Riyadh to San Francisco, deliberately choosing a Western carrier in the belief that it would be discreet. According to the lawsuit, a senior Lufthansa manager at Riyadh airport instead publicly harassed the couple over their relationship status, refused to accept they were married and loudly demeaned them despite their pleas for discretion. The couple’s worries about sending copies of their marriage certificate and passports to Lufthansa’s headquarters via Saudi Arabia’s heavily monitored internet were reportedly dismissed.

They were eventually allowed to board and returned to California, but roughly a month later, Roe discovered that his marital status on his Saudi government profile had been changed from «single» to «married». The lawsuit argues there is “no conceivable way” the Saudi authorities could have learned of the marriage other than through the airport incident and the Lufthansa flight. Roe now faces the risk of severe retribution as a Saudi citizen, whilst Doe, as a U.S citizen, fears losing his job, public shaming and possible permanent deportation from the country, per LGBTQ Nation.

Lufthansa declined to comment «due to ongoing litigation», according to LGBTQ Nation. The case has also been discussed on the Serious Trouble podcast, hosted by Josh Barro and Ken White, which examined whether the episode creates a legal claim in the United States.

Sources: LGBTQ Nation., Serious Trouble podcast