Flight Delayed After ‘Act of Total Racism’
Jesse Tabit May 18, 2016
Two male flyers had their trip delayed by 24 hours when they deplaned a Monarch Airlines flight at Birmingham International Airport (BHX) Sunday because two of their fellow passengers, a British couple, allegedly thought they resembled terrorists.
“Not only was the plane delayed but I witnessed the sad reality of racism as these men were escorted off a boarded plane because others suspected them to be terrorists,” said Marsha De Salvatore, a passenger queued up to board the flight.
De Salvatore claims it was a British couple who voiced their suspicions of the two men. “The husband was anxious and kept saying to his wife: ‘I’m not getting on the plane.’ I thought perhaps he had a fear of flying. But just as they were about to hand over their boarding pass, they stepped out of the queue.”
The pilot announced that the British couple who refused to board “thought [the men] looked suspicious.” He later added, “What happened today was an act of total racism.”
The two men offloaded and the British couple declined to travel.
Monarch said in a statement: “Monarch can confirm that two passengers voluntary offloaded themselves from this flight and that police were in attendance for two further passengers who subsequently chose to travel today. Following an additional security check, the flight left 90 minutes later.”
For more information on this story, visit Birmingham Mail.
[Photo: Birmingham Mail]
Very confusing article. Who exactly exited the flight? Was it the accusers or the accusees? It seems like they should kick of the people making unfounded accusations and let the innocent passengers fly. They should also make the accusers pay for new tickets.
I simply dont see how this can be racism. If you have a fear of anything then its your right to express that fear even if it includes not wanting to take off on a plane with someone you think is dangerous. Why does everything that happens that includes a non white person get deemed to be racist. This has to be the most over used word in the English language used 99% of the time by people who have no idea of the real meaning and definition of the word.
It is bigotry not racism.