RedZezz
7th October 2011, 02:38
From San Diego Union-Tribune:
Muslim woman removed from plane sues Southwest
A Muslim woman who was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight in San Diego in March has filed suit in federal court against the airline, it was announced Thursday.
Irum Abbasi, a San Diego resident, was en route to school in San Jose when she was asked to leave the airplane. A flight attendant mistakenly heard Abbasi's cell phone conversation as "It's a go" rather than "I've got to go," according to her attorney James McElroy.
"We are convinced that if Irum Abbasi were a blond and blue-eyed, this would not have occurred," said McElroy.
Abbasi is a native of Pakistan and has been a U.S. citizen for more than a decade. She wears the traditional hijab, a head scarf.
While she was quickly cleared for the same flight, the pilot reportedly expressed discomfort and she was asked to take a later plane. Abbasi, a graduate student, was en route to work on an experiment involving 60 students at San Jose State University. McElroy said the event has disrupted her studies.
Southwest sent several apologies to Abbasi and a voucher good for a free flight.
The complaint filed against Southwest includes four counts of discrimination and one of breach of contract and one of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
A press conference was scheduled for late Thursday morning at Terminal 1 at Lindbergh Field, at the same location where, back in March, Abbssi and the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment in this country.
At the time Abbasi and CAIR asked for an internal investigation by Southwest into policies for removing passengers from planes.
Has Southwest conducted an internal audit of its policies?
McElroy noted that since Abbasi's ejection, Southwest has made headlines for bouncing Green Day lead singerBilly Joe Armstrong for sagging pants and the "L Word" actress Leisha Hailey for kissing her girlfriend.
"Draw your own conclusions," said McElroy.
In fact, blond, blue-eyed women are not safe from Southwest crew scrutiny.
In 2007, San Diegan Kyla Ebbert made national headlines and all the talk shows when she was told by a Southwest flight attendant that her attire was too revealing and nearly bounced from a flight.
In 2010 film maker and actor Kevin Smith was told he was too fat to fly on a Southwest flight.
McElroy argues that Southwest has the right to make judgments for the safety of passengers but should limit those to "pretty clearly established threats of domestic violence."
Southwest's behavior has demonstrated a "real lack of intelligible guidelines" for those judgments, he added.
According to the complaint filed Thursday, "Plaintiff suffered and continues to suffer fear, anxiety, humiliation, mental pain and anguish, emotional distress, inconvenience and economic loss."
Abbasi is seeking financial relief from the airline but a specific amount is not stated in her complaint.
The Union-Tribune has left messages with Southwest officials seeking comment.
Article written by Robert J Hawkins
Muslim woman removed from plane sues Southwest
A Muslim woman who was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight in San Diego in March has filed suit in federal court against the airline, it was announced Thursday.
Irum Abbasi, a San Diego resident, was en route to school in San Jose when she was asked to leave the airplane. A flight attendant mistakenly heard Abbasi's cell phone conversation as "It's a go" rather than "I've got to go," according to her attorney James McElroy.
"We are convinced that if Irum Abbasi were a blond and blue-eyed, this would not have occurred," said McElroy.
Abbasi is a native of Pakistan and has been a U.S. citizen for more than a decade. She wears the traditional hijab, a head scarf.
While she was quickly cleared for the same flight, the pilot reportedly expressed discomfort and she was asked to take a later plane. Abbasi, a graduate student, was en route to work on an experiment involving 60 students at San Jose State University. McElroy said the event has disrupted her studies.
Southwest sent several apologies to Abbasi and a voucher good for a free flight.
The complaint filed against Southwest includes four counts of discrimination and one of breach of contract and one of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
A press conference was scheduled for late Thursday morning at Terminal 1 at Lindbergh Field, at the same location where, back in March, Abbssi and the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment in this country.
At the time Abbasi and CAIR asked for an internal investigation by Southwest into policies for removing passengers from planes.
Has Southwest conducted an internal audit of its policies?
McElroy noted that since Abbasi's ejection, Southwest has made headlines for bouncing Green Day lead singerBilly Joe Armstrong for sagging pants and the "L Word" actress Leisha Hailey for kissing her girlfriend.
"Draw your own conclusions," said McElroy.
In fact, blond, blue-eyed women are not safe from Southwest crew scrutiny.
In 2007, San Diegan Kyla Ebbert made national headlines and all the talk shows when she was told by a Southwest flight attendant that her attire was too revealing and nearly bounced from a flight.
In 2010 film maker and actor Kevin Smith was told he was too fat to fly on a Southwest flight.
McElroy argues that Southwest has the right to make judgments for the safety of passengers but should limit those to "pretty clearly established threats of domestic violence."
Southwest's behavior has demonstrated a "real lack of intelligible guidelines" for those judgments, he added.
According to the complaint filed Thursday, "Plaintiff suffered and continues to suffer fear, anxiety, humiliation, mental pain and anguish, emotional distress, inconvenience and economic loss."
Abbasi is seeking financial relief from the airline but a specific amount is not stated in her complaint.
The Union-Tribune has left messages with Southwest officials seeking comment.
Article written by Robert J Hawkins