Group claims discrimination
Hakima Abdulle now lives in Maryland and was in Chicago on a connecting flight on her way to Seattle, where she was to provide help to a pregnant niece. She asked a man sitting next to her if she could switch into the aisle seat. Southwest does not have assigned seating.
He said okay and they began to do so. A female flight attendant came along and told her she could not make the switch and Ms. Abdulle asked why that was so. According to her and Zainab Chaudry of The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) she was then forced to disembark from the plane.
The flight attendant is quoted as saying her reason for taking Abdulle off the plane was that she “did not feel comfortable” with her. Abdulle, who was wearing a hijab at the time, was put on a later flight and did get to her destination.
“She suffered acute distress and anxiety as a result of this experience,” Ms. Chaudry told media. “She was publicly humiliated before a plane full of passengers.”
Ms Chaudry and CAIR, and Abdulle’s husband, Abukar Fidaw, are seeking an apology from Southwest Airlines for Abdulle and reimbursement of her airfare. They also want the incident investigated.
Airline supports staff
Southwest Airlines does not agree with the charges and did not issue an apology. It issued a statement in support of its unnamed flight attendant and it suggested there was more to be known about what transpired on the plane.
“Information available, collected at the time of the event, indicates that our employees followed proper procedures in response to this customer’s actions while onboard the aircraft,” the Southwest statement reads. “Out of respect for the customer’s privacy, we will not share specifics about her conduct or travel experience.
“We are not in the business of removing passengers from flights without reason,” Southwest said. “Our goal is to get each one of our customers to their final destination safely. We are responsible for the comfort of all passengers and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind.”
There have been at least two other allegations against Southwest concerning treatment of Muslim passengers. In the case of Abdulle, her husband said she was left to cry in front of others and Chaudry said that she “suffered extreme distress and anxiety as a result of this experience.”
