A Muslim family that was ordered off an AirTran Airways flight on New Year's Day said on Friday that they were told they could not reboard or rebook a flight on the discount airline even after security officials cleared them for travel.
Atif Irfan said in an interview with CNN that federal authorities removed him, seven family members and a friend from the flight after passengers overheard members of the group talking about the safest place to sit on the plane. He said they were being careful to avoid any "buzz" words like "bomb" that would trigger a security alert.
The group was flying out of Reagan Washington National Airport and was headed for a religious retreat in Florida when other passengers apparently overheard the conversation and reported it to authorities.
AirTran, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings Inc., issued a statement saying that the airline "complied with all TSA (Transportation Security Administration), law enforcement and Homeland Security directives and had no discretion in the matter."
All 104 passengers on board the flight were taken off and rescreened and their baggage was checked again, AirTran said. Of the nine passengers in the group, six asked to be rebooked to Florida, AirTran said.
"One passenger in the party became irate and made inappropriate comments," the statement said. "The local law enforcement officials came over and escorted the passengers away from the gate podium."
Kashif Irfan, Atif's brother, told The Washington Post he thought the group, all but one of them U.S.-born citizens, were profiled because of their appearance. He said five of the six adults in the group are of South Asian descent, and all six are traditionally Muslim in appearance, with the men wearing beards and the women in headscarves.
Kashif Irfan, 34, is an anesthesiologist and his brother Atif, 29, is a lawyer, the Post reported. Both live in Alexandria, Virginia.
Atif Irfan told CNN U.S. law enforcement officials treated the group with kindness but the family is upset that the airline did not allow the group to reboard the plane or rebook a flight after they had been cleared of any wrongdoing.
A Muslim family that was ordered off an AirTran Airways flight on New Year's Day said on Friday that they were told they could not reboard or rebook a flight on the discount airline even after security officials cleared them for travel.
Atif Irfan said in an interview with CNN that federal authorities removed him, seven family members and a friend from the flight after passengers overheard members of the group talking about the safest place to sit on the plane. He said they were being careful to avoid any "buzz" words like "bomb" that would trigger a security alert.
The group was headed for a religious retreat in Florida when other passengers apparently overheard the conversation and reported it to authorities.
Irfan told The Washington Post he thought the group, all but one of them U.S.-born citizens, were profiled because of their appearance. He said five of the six adults in the group are of South Asian descent, and all six are traditionally Muslim in appearance, with the men wearing beards and the women in headscarves.
Irfan, 34, an anesthesiologist living in Alexandria, Virginia, said U.S. law enforcement officials treated the group with kindness but the family is upset that the airline did not allow the group to reboard the plane or rebook a flight after they had been cleared of any wrongdoing.
The Post reported the group booked a flight on US Airways after the incident.
AirTran could not be immediately reached for comment, but CNN quoted a statement from the airline saying it complied with all Transportation Security Administration, law enforcement and Homeland Security directives and had no discretion in the matter.
"They just said that the security matter had not been resolved and that it needed to be cleared prior to them allowing us to book again," Kashif Irfan told CNN. "They did not offer any clarification other than that."
http://uk.reuters.com/article/burningIssues/idUKTRE5012XV20090102
http://uk.reuters.com/
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/americas/2009/01/03/190339/Muslim-family.htm
http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=bfb65465-12d9-479c-8fca-d95b69fe64ea
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/090102/3/3u92f.html
http://www.javno.com/en/world/clanak.php?id=220246
http://news.trend.az/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1386568&lang=en
http://www.daylife.com/article/0dHj033d4w7Ny
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,475126,00.html
No comments:
Post a Comment