Muslims removed from plane because flight attendant was uncomfortable [View All]

Article Last Updated: 03/18/2006 4:29 AM PST

Muslims allege flight discrimination
Hayward father, son say they were kicked off plane because of their attire
By Matt O'Brien, STAFF WRITER


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Fazal Khan, 59, and his son, Mohammed Khan, 28, boarded a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Oakland on Jan. 31 wearing traditional South Asian tunics, white skullcaps and loose trousers. Both men also have long beards.

Before takeoff, attendants asked the Khans to vacate their seats and escorted them back to the terminal, said their lawyer, Shirin Sinnar of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco.

"They were essentially told, 'You can't take this flight because the flight attendant is uncomfortable,'" Sinnar said.

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An airline customer service representative walked onto the plane and asked the Khans to bring their carry-on handbags with them and return to the airport terminal, Sinnar said.

After escorting them out, the representative was "sympathetic" but said they could not return because the flight attendant was not comfortable with them on board, Sinnar said. With their check-in luggage still in the aircraft's cargo hold, the Khans were booked on a separate flight going to San Francisco International Airport a few hours later.

"The strange thing is no one took the bags off the first flight," Sinnar said. "If there was any thought they were a security risk, certainly their bags should have been removed."

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