Due to an increase in recent terror attacks across the globe, the presence of Arabic-speaking passengers aboard an aircraft has stirred some rather harsh and silly reactions towards them, and this seems to be occurring more frequently nowadays.
One such incident occurred on board a Southwest flight which was scheduled to leave Chicago’s Midway airport. Two Arabic-speaking men attempted to board the plane, only to be prevented from doing so by a fellow passenger who alerted a crew member. They were thus not able to board the plane and dialed 911, and following an investigation by the police and airport security, Maher Khalil and Anas Ayyad were permitted to board the flight which had been delayed for quite a while.
Six Muslim passengers were instructed to leave the aircraft of another Southwest flight, as they were accused of not obeying the instructions of the crew members. They were, however, only attempting to save some seats for their friends which was seen as a disturbance on the aircraft and were rebooked onto another flight. The airline states that the Muslim passengers were rearranging the other passengers onboard the aircraft and that the situation could not be resolved by the crew members, as they did not want the flight to be delayed.
Nowadays, many ignorant and intolerant passengers or crew members become easily suspicious about Arab or Muslim passengers as if they might be suicide bombers and that their flight could be hijacked leading to a tragic ending, and this has resulted in some unnecessary reactions towards innocent individuals who are merely just wanting to reach their next destination much like everyone else around them.
Do you know anyone who had such an experience? Please share your stories.