CBC News reports that on Friday, a passenger on an Air Canada flight from Montreal to New York City was removed from a flight for prayer. Some fellow passengers wonder why the man, an Orthodox Jew, was removed. He was moving back and forth and his prayers were not audible, but apparently they received more than one complaint about his behavior.
The flight attendant, according to witnesses, recognized he was not a danger, but had to ask him to leave anyway. The airline insists that the man did not speak English or French, and thus they returned to the gate to secure a translator and that the crew acted in the best interests of the majority of passengers. While they report the man was allowed to fly on the next flight, they do not report whether or not he was told he was not allowed to pray onboard.
Jewish leaders in Montreal criticized the move as insensitive and B’nai Brith Canada has offered to help give Air Canada crews sensitivity training.
We ourselves are thrilled at yet another activity that is suspicious in flight…silent prayer. The TSA already has a list of forbidden items for travel, perhaps we should compile a list of forbidden behaviors. Let’s see…
- Excessive use of the airplane lavatory
- Being too happy in flight/laughter
- Prayer
- Exchanging items with your fellow travellers
Got any others?