The Human Rights Commission of New Zealand, the New Zealand Herald reported, highlighted recently a case of a Muslim religious leader known only as Mr. Adam who was removed from a flight.
Mr. Adam was dressed in religious attire and had planned to read religious texts on the plane, and gone to the toilet to perform ritual ablutions before takeoff, and spent 10 minutes in the toilet. The cabin crew became suspicious and escorted him from the plane, discovering he was not travelling on a New Zealand passport, although he did have dual citizenship. They searched the toilet and aisle in which he sat. He was not allowed back onboard the plane because he had “upset the staff.”
Now, on one level, a passenger went to the restroom during a ground delay before takeoff. But he was in there for ten minutes, which is considered a suspicious activity…although most people have spent more time in a bathroom than that. Perhaps he should have performed his rituals before departing the airport terminal, but either way, he was removed for intangible reasons.
While a series of seemingly innocuous events separately may seem suspicious when put together, this case seems to fail any litmus test. Positively though, the airline replaced his ticket, provided compensation, and a written apology. It also held staff training on cultural practices and reviewed how it dealt with security threats…something every airline should do after each security incident.
