A Muslim woman says she was wrongfully removed from the American flight after a white passenger complained he did not feel comfortable with her on board.
She reported the incident last week on her official Twitter account. In a thread posted on her Twitter account, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, who founded the blog Muslim Girl, said that a white man objected to her to the American Airlines Staff after an argument at airport security.
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She said that a man jumped in front of her in the queue with his belonging and ran through the machine before her. The activist said that if she as a ‘veiled Muslim woman’ had behaved in the same way, there would have been different consequences for her.
Once Amani boarded the flight, she was asked by the manager to leave the plane because an unidentified man complained that she made him uncomfortable. She also posted a video of her conversation with the manager on Facebook. In the conversation with the manager, she said the man-made her uncomfortable.
I had the craziest experience in TSA this morning.
An entitled white man behind me insisted on cutting me in line because I was “still taking my shoes off.”
When I said he could wait like everyone else, he started going off about how he’s “pre check” and “first class” 1/3
— AMANI (@XOAMANI) November 14, 2020
She later posted a 15-minute video on Facebook which ended up police officers arresting her, as she left the plane. Police took her into custody but later released her. She was charged with transportation and trespass.
Council on American-Muslim relations immediately reacted to the incident and demanded an apology from the airline why they singled out Amani and ejected her from the plane based on the words of a man.
He then proceeded to not only shove his things before mine, but then RUN THROUGH THE MACHINE and TSA did NOTHING!
Not only did they not do anything, a TSA officer had the audacity to tell ME to “cut it out.” 2/3
— AMANI (@XOAMANI) November 14, 2020
The incident received massive backlash on social media, where people are arguing that the incident is evidence of Islamophobia which is still rampant today.
American Airlines while talking to The Independent said that the altercation began in the queue and continued on the plane.
https://twitter.com/AMANI2020/status/1327855135654088707?s=20
‘We are actively investigating an incident that took place between two passengers before and during boarding of flight 2029 at Newark Liberty International Airport. We are concerned by these allegations and our team is actively working to learn more about what occurred.”
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“We have reached out to both passengers, and are in the process of interviewing crew members, other passengers on board, as well as witnesses from the TSA checkpoint. Besides, we are working with local law enforcement and have requested video footage from Terminal A and security,” said the spokesman of American Airlines to The Independent.
GVS News Desk