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The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is asking the U.S. airline industry to explain what it is doing to prevent discrimination against Muslim and Arab American passengers.
The caucus’ concerns, laid out in a letter Monday to the trade organization Airlines for America (A4A), come on the heels of what it said have been at least eight reported cases of discrimination against airline passengers in the past year.
Last month, for example, a University of Pennsylvania professor was removed from a flight operated by the regional carrier Air Wisconsin after a fellow passenger mistook the math equations he was writing for terrorist code. The professor, Guido Menzio, had dark curly hair and an olive complexion, though he is actually Italian, rather than of Arab origin.
In an April incident, Southwest removed University of California, Berkeley student Khairuldeen Makhzoomi from a flight after another passenger heard him speaking Arabic on the phone.
“Flying while Muslim is not a crime, and our airline industry should not act as though it is,” the caucus chair, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), said in a statement that the caucus posted on its website to accompany the letter.
The caucus asked A4A CEO Nick Calio to respond to three questions:
Do your member airlines require diversity and nondiscrimination training?
What procedures do those airlines have in place to ensure allegations of discrimination are investigated and remediated?
Do all A4A members have complaint procedures in place for individuals who believe they have experienced discrimination?
In an email Tuesday, A4A spokesman Vaughn Jennings said the organization is reviewing the letter.
“Airline employees rely on their extensive customer service training, including both diversity and nondiscrimination training, to ensure a safe and welcoming travel experience for all of the 2.2 million customers who fly on U.S. airlines every day,” Jennings wrote. “Our members take these matters very seriously and do not tolerate discrimination in any form.”
A4A’s commercial U.S. airline members are United, American, Southwest, Alaska, Hawaiian and JetBlue.
Source: travelweekly.com
