Originally Posted by
FlyingPharaoh
I agree with the post above, very stupid reaction by crew really. No one is forcing those passengers to watch it.
But I've never seen it on my flights with MS, and I've seen similar movies played with no problem. Also I dont see the correlation between this random incident, and the fact that MS is a dry airline. I read before that they dont serve Alcohol for economic reasons or something like that, it wasnt due to religious reasons. For more conservative gulf carriers serve alcohol on board, and Egypt is far more liberal than those countries. So obviously religion isnt the reason.
After talking about this more with my wife she told me that apparently the passengers who were arguing with the CC about this were returning from the Haj and this was during Eid.
I disagree with you that it is 'obvious' religion isn't the reason they don't serve alcohol. Starting the flight with a prayer obviously shows religion is a vital and important part of life in the region.
'Whatever the reason, it is absolutely their right to serve or not serve it, show romantic comedies or not, and operate their airline according to whatever customs they deem proper.
I'd also suggest that Egypt seems to be moving towards a more conservative stance over the last 20 years. I actually feel more 'comfortable' when I'm in Bharain, UAE, etc than in Cairo. Of course Saudi is a place that is off the charts when it comes to values different than my own.
My big lesson learned - I try not to fly with Middle Eastern airlines during Ramadan because of reduced services and their focus on moving huge crowds of folks for the Haj.