Muslim family kicked off flight for ‘safety reasons’

New York: An American Muslim family was kicked off a United flight by a pilot because their presence caused “safety concerns.”

A video taken by Eaman-Amy Saad Shebley, shows her husband and three young children questioning a pilot why they were being removed from the plane.

The family was on a Washington-bound plane at a Chicago airport.

Earlier, the family had asked a flight attendant whether they could get five-point harness safety seats for their children, according to the Independent.

In the video, while being asked to get off the plane, Shebley is heard asking whether it was a “discriminatory” request. The pilot replied saying it was a “flight safety issue.”

They were not given details beyond this response.

On Facebook, Shebley posted: “Shame on you #unitedAirlines for profiling my family and me for no reason other than how we look and kicking us off the plane for " flight safety issues" on our flight to DC for the kids’ spring break. My three kids are too young to have experienced this.”

United Airlines said the family was rebooked “on a later flight because of concerns about their child’s safety seat, which did not comply with federal safety regulations” and said the airline has “zero tolerance for discrimination,” according to a statement made to BuzzFeed News.

“We are tired of Muslim-looking passengers being removed from flights for the flimsiest reasons, under a cryptic claim of ‘security,’” the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago said.

Last year, a Muslim traveler aboard a United Airlines flight was denied an unopened can of diet coke and was told "it's so you don't use it as a weapon," just after handing an unopened can to another passenger.

In another incident, passengers aboard an Etihad flight criticized a Muslim man for giving a prayer call. This created commotion on the flight, according to the Daily Mail.

The video of the incident has been doing rounds on online platforms. 

The seven-hour Manila bound flight routinely carries a large number of Muslim passengers and performing prayers aboard isn’t an unusual sight. Other passengers who were on the flight said, “It was annoying. One should respect others’ space. We were all terrified by his calls.”

Passengers were also irked at the way the flight attendants handled the situation.