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Originally Posted by rickair7777
Paywall. Executive summary?
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Two Muslim men from North Texas have settled with regional carrier for American Airlines, Mesa Airlines, after alleging the crew found them “suspicious” and referred them to law enforcement before they could fly. In 2019, Abderraoof Alkhawaldeh, a motivational speaker from Irving, and Issam Abdallah, a Dallas nonprofit leader, were traveling home from Birmingham, Ala., to DFW International Airport when the incident occurred. Terms of the settlement were not released. Court documents allege that soon after the plaintiffs boarded the flight, a passenger and crew member raised concerns to the captain that the men were a “security threat,” delaying the flight. Upon arrival, the two men were trailed by law enforcement officers, interviewed by an FBI agent and had their bags searched by TSA officers. “Airlines cannot use racial profiling or other forms of discrimination in deciding who gets to fly with them,” Justin Sadowsky, trial attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a release. “The color of one’s skin or the way they dress is not a substitute for rational, evidence-based security screenings.” Mesa has not responded to a request for comment. In August, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals — which includes Texas — ruled that the discrimination case would move forward to a jury trial. The fifth court reversed the district court’s initial summary judgment after evidence was shown that a Mesa Airlines pilot’s actions were motivated by racial discrimination, according to the release. The decision ultimately led to a settlement with financial payments to both men. “Our community should not have to live in fear of ‘flying while Muslim,’” Mustafaa Carroll, CAIR-Dallas interim executive director, said in a release. “When airlines have to pay for discriminating against Muslims, they will learn to stop.” Last year, American Airlines faced a few racial discrimination complaints after removing two Black celebrities from flights in January and was sued in federal court by a Black passenger for also being kicked off a flight. In October, a Black musician flying to Los Angeles on an American Airlines flight with his two biracial sons was accused of human trafficking. The musician, David Ryan Harris, later started a change.org petition to draw attention to the issues biracial families face when flying. A California mother is also suing Southwest Airlines for accusing her of child trafficking her biracial daughter, an incident that took place back on Oct. 22, 2021.
TLDR: 2 Muslims board a Mesa flight. The CA assumed they were terrorists based on their “Arab, Mediterranean” race and refused to fly with them on board, telling security that she was “not flying this plane with a brother named Issam on it.” and ordered them off the plane. Later got harrased by FBI, TSA, the feds, etc. Judge found the case valid based on discrimination and had a good chance of success in court. Mesa settled before it went to court.
Happened in 2019 and was just settled last week.
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