A MUM was left in tears when she was told that she’ll be “escorted off the plane” – all allegedly because she wanted to sit with her family.
The nightmare incident took place on a Southwest Airlines flight between Houston and Washington DC, and was shared online by her husband.
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Mehdi Hasan, a British journalist who’s based in the US, explained that he and his family were flying home after Thanksgiving on Sunday night and had just boarded the flight.
Southwest Airlines, a low-cost airline, operates an open-seating policy.
It means there are no allocated seats, and passengers can sit in any available seat on a first come, first served basis.
Mehdi explained how his wife had asked another passenger “politely” to switch seats so the family could sit together before the exchange took place.
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He wrote in a viral Twitter thread: “Hey @SouthwestAir: not a good look for your flight attendant on SW5539 to DC last night to loudly tell a brown woman in a headscarf she’ll be “escorted off the plane” for making people feel “uncomfortable” – because she wanted to sit with her husband & kids!
“The flight attendant called ground staff onto the plane, complained about the Muslim woman – my wife! – to them, & escalated rather than de-escalated the situation – simply because my wife politely asked a guy if he’d give up his seat for our family (which he was fine with!).”
Mehdi added that even the cabin crew’s colleague had sided with the family.
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He said: “Even her own @SouthwestAir colleague from the ground staff who came onboard to check things wondered why the flight attendant wouldn’t shut up & let things go so we could take off.”
The family also received support from other passengers, including one who told them the cabin crew had treated Mrs Hasan “like a venomous snake” according to Mehdi.
The Brit continued in his Twitter thread: “Thanks @SouthwestAir for ruining the end of our Thanksgiving trip and leaving my wife in tears – because she wanted us all to sit together as a family while your flight attendant wanted to single her out and humiliate her. Thanks a lot.
“FYI: @SouthwestAir flight staff seem to have form when it comes to mistreating brown/Muslim passengers. Hadn’t flown with them for years and, at this point, don’t plan to do so again anytime in the near future. Not worth it.”
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Mehdi’s tweets received thousands of retweets, with many offering messages of support.
One person wrote: “I’m so sorry this happened to your wife. How upsetting for her & distressing for your children to see.
“I hope the airline takes action against their staff member. @SouthwestAir Isn’t it quite normal for a family to want to sit together? This is totally unacceptable behaviour.”
Another added: “What happened to you and your family is unacceptable. This attendant clearly needs some training. Everyone was in agreement there should have been no problem. I’m sad for the treatment you’re wife received.”
A spokesperson for the airline told Yahoo: “We are working to collect information based on the recent customer claim made on social [media].
“We also are in contact with the customer who originated the tweet. We take these situations very seriously and are dedicated to ensuring any issue raised is thoroughly investigated and reviewed in a timely manner.”
Earlier this year, a Muslim family claim they were kicked off a flight for “looking ethnic”.
While an American Airlines cabin crew was branded racist after she allegedly threatened a family on a flight.
Recently, a 16-year-old girl claimed that a white passenger refused to sit next to her because “she was black”.
Sun Online Travel has contacted Southwest Airlines for additional comment.
