Couple Left ‘Humiliated’ After ‘Demeaning, Aggressive’ Treatment by Emirates Staff
Jackie Reddy June 16, 2016
There is no doubt, explains passenger Lee Charlton, who was traveling to South Africa with his partner and young son, that the incident was about sexual orientation.
A gay couple traveling on a recent Emirates flight to South Africa have revealed that they were treated “in an aggressive and demeaning way” after the carrier’s staff held them for two hours when they attempted to check-in for the final leg of their flight from Dubai.
Passenger Lee Charlton, who was traveling with his partner Jason and son Kieran, told the Independent that the incident, “was absolutely about our sexuality, there is no doubt about that.”
He explained to the paper that a member of the carrier’s check-in staff at Dubai International Airport (DXB) laughed at the men when they confirmed that they were a couple. Charlton was apparently also asked if either his partner or his son were his siblings. At this point, a manager was then summoned and the family was held in a room at DXB for two hours with no explanation. They were also told that their documents were insufficient to allow them entry into South Africa.
They were finally released and only narrowly missed their connecting flight from DXB to Durban.
Speaking of the incident, Charlton told the paper, “I was shocked, it was a horrible and stressful situation and I felt humiliated.”
He added, “We were very excited to travel long distance for the first time with our son Kieran and it was effectively spoilt by the staff from Emirates. I came out as gay aged 16 and I have never encountered this kind of behavior towards my sexuality in the 26 years since.”
Charlton went on to query the carrier’s employment culture, saying, “I just don’t understand why Emirates, a huge international corporation, doesn’t give cultural training to its staff [to] overcome these kinds of prejudices.”
“The whole thing has really left a sour taste in my mouth and I’d think twice about visiting Dubai again in the future,” he said.
Charlton has filed a complaint with the carrier but has yet to receive a reply. At present, homosexuality is a criminal offense in Dubai and punishable by lengthy jail sentences.
[Image: YouTube]
You’re Reading
While it may be illegal for those that live there, in general tourists aren't punished. Why? They want the money. Also EK flies to plenty of places that it's not illegal. In fact ZA is one of the countries where SSM is legal. This I'm afraid is more about the tough restrictions ZA places on persons wantig to bring someone under 18 into the country. Being gay (in a country were it's not ok) probably added to the confusion for EK staff . Every airline I've booked someone traveling to ZA with a minor had a warning. It stated that ZA had recently ( 1 1/2 yr ago) changed the rules on what is required to travel into the country with someone under 18. It's caught lots of travelers off-guard since the rules are some of the strictest in the world.
Though there are many posts about the quality of this and perhaps other ME based airlines, you are truly a fool to fly one of them. Common sense.
They were homosexuals in a country where it is illegal to be a homosexual. What they should have expected is prison. They were rather fortunate.
I know tons of gay couples who regularly fly EK and have never had any such problems. I would bet serious money that these guys were NOT in possession of the proper documents to be traveling with their child. OTOH I know several straight couples who have had trouble traveling to South Africa due to the birth certificate issue, including two people that were flat out refused boarding, one a Dutch couple who were not married, and another a friends wife traveling alone with their son. "They were also told that their documents were insufficient to allow them entry into South Africa." sort of says what this is all about as unfortunately under South African law, not Dubaian they would have needed quite a lot of documentation, possibly even from the BIRTH MOTHER, or adoption documentation or whatever other craziness SA currently requires. I have for example witnessed people not being able to board flights to SA because they do not have two empty pages in their passport. SA is really weird about these things. So methinks these guys decided to make everything about their agenda, rather than admit all the facts.
I find some of the comments here rather distasteful. Even understanding that they are a UAE-based airline, they are built on being a global airline that handles passengers from around the world. That is inherent in their growth strategy. It isn't as if they are a regional airline serving the Middle East. As such, they should handle a variety of cultures as well as any others. They were transiting in the airport so were not in the country proper. If these airlines want to continue their growth they will have to accept people such as this family. It does sound like having a child may have been the prompter since there are many additional regulations traveling with underage children. Whether it was a gay issue, a paperwork issue, or a combination of both, I don't think it the couple should be criticized.