Delta Air Lines says it’s investigating an Ohio Muslim couple’s claim that they were removed from a return flight from Europe after an airline employee singled them out due to their appearance.
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Delta Air Lines says it’s investigating a claim from an Ohio Muslim that alleges they were removed from a flight after an airline employee said the couple’s presence made her uncomfortable.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations Cincinnati chapter alleged on Thursday that Delta removed the suburban Cincinnati couple from the flight because an airline employee was allegedly not comfortable having them on the plane. “I thought, ‘We are American citizens”.
A Muslim couple from OH is speaking out after being removed from an worldwide flight following complaints from a crew member. They faced no issues during the boarding process but after the couple was seated, Nazia Ali said, their ordeal began.
Delta Air Lines is probing a claim that an Ohio Muslim couple was profiled and kicked off a recent flight, according to a Friday report from The Associated Press.
CAIR says it wants the Department of Transportation to define its guidelines for how airlines can determine when passengers may be legally removed. “So, I’m like, ‘Can you take my cell phone and show to the captain that we were just texting our parents'”. The airline said it was looking into the incident and would carry out an investigation. While on a Delta jet in Paris for the trip home they were interrupted by an American ground crew member who came on board and told them to get off.
After the Islamophobic incident, Delta Air Lines released a statement that read, “Delta condemns discrimination toward our customers in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or gender”.
After being removed from the flight, the Alis were questioned by a French security official before being put up in a hotel near the airport for the night. “It was humiliating. Why were we treated like criminals?”. Attorneys for CAIR-Cincinnati also said they believed the couple’s appearance and Faiza’s headscarf drew the attention.
The couple hope their case will bring awareness to what they say is a growing problem among Muslims of being discriminated against on flights- and bring about some industry change.
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Karen Dabdoub, CAIR-Cincinnati executive director, said Thursday morning that her organization sees spikes in anti-Muslim behavior and examples of Islamophobia during election seasons – this year being no exception.
