---

---

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 23122 • Posted: Saturday January 3, 2009  

---

9 Muslims Are Pulled From Plane and Denied Re-entry; Airline Apologizes Next Day

AirTran Airways apologized Friday for an incident on New Year’s Day in which airline officials pulled nine Muslim passengers off a domestic flight and refused to rebook them, even though F.B.I. agents said they had done nothing wrong.

The incident occurred Thursday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after members of a Muslim family boarding a flight to Orlando, Fla., had a conversation about the safest place to sit in the event of an accident. Other passengers reported the remarks as suspicious to a flight attendant.

The passengers, all American-born United States citizens except for one, expressed frustration Friday in not being allowed back on the plane once the F.B.I. had cleared them. They had to buy tickets on US Airways.

Initially, AirTran said it was not at fault. Later on Friday, it called the incident a “misunderstanding” and apologized to all 104 passengers, including the nine detained.

“We regret that the issue escalated to the heightened security level it did,” the airline said, “but we trust everyone understands that the security and the safety of our passengers is paramount and cannot be compromised.”

Kashif Irfan, 34, one of the detained passengers, a doctor residing in Alexandria, Va., said by phone: “We are very grateful for the apology, and we’re impressed by the outpouring of respect that AirTran has demonstrated after the fact. We have not ruled out the possibility of legal action.”
[...]

On behalf of the Muslim passengers, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group, filed a complaint Friday with the aviation consumer protection division of the Transportation Department requesting an investigation.

---

What You Can Do From Here

---

Read More Articles On These Topics Categories: Islam Tags: AirTran, Islam, muslims Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article Subscribe Religion News Blog RSS feed [What is this?] RSS by topic: Islam Read Another Article Previous entry: John Travolta’s 16-year-old son dies Next entry: Jett Travolta’s death shines spotlights on cult’s quackery RNB Homepage with latest headlines Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults Find Related Books Islam Most Popular Today Jane Doe in Warren Jeffs case no longer seeks anonymity, shows photo The End of the World Cult: Michael Travesser Escape from polygamy: Ex-plural wife alleges rampant abuse in FLDS unions Televangelist Joel Osteen shuns lavish lifestyle Juanita Bynum, Thomas Weeks willing to reconcile? A church accounting: Joyce Meyer’s $23,000 toilet, Scientology, and more… At Warren Jeff trial, an inside look at his church Police: Girl died as parents prayed instead of seeking help Juanita Bynum on Good Morning America: First marriage was abusive too Thomas Weeks: Bishop accused in beating Juanita Bynum blames Satan for his woes

---

Share This Article

---

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:

• Post a link on your blog or website:
  
• Send in an email or IM:
  
• Post on a forum:
  

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.

Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.

Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.