Kirkland, WA – United Airlines Removes Flight Attendant Involved In Alleged Discrimination Of Muslim Chaplain

Kirkland, WA – Tahera Ahmad, the Muslim Northwest University chaplain who has alleged she was discriminated against aboard a United Airlines flight, has kept up the pressure on United Airlines to publicly address what happened.

As previously reported on VIN News (http://bit.ly/1df8k9G), Ahmad has said she was denied an unopened can of Diet Coke by a stewardess who purportedly told Ahmad, “You would use it as a weapon.” Ahmad was wearing a hijab, a Muslim headscarf, at the time of the incident.

She has claimed her fellow passenger was given an unopened bottle of beer.

Both the pilot and the flight attendant apologized to Ahmad on the day of the flight, but Ahmad insisted that United Airlines is minimizing the event. “I’m disappointed in the (airline’s) apology,” Ahmad said. “It does not address the discrimination. It basically glosses over the entire occurrence. It says it was a misunderstanding over a can of diet soda.”

The flight was operated by Shuttle America for United.

In a statement issued today, the airline said, “While United did not operate the flight, Ms. Ahmad was our customer and we apologize to her for what occurred on the flight. After investigating this matter, United has ensured that the flight attendant, a Shuttle America employee, will no longer serve United customers.

United does not tolerate behavior that is discriminatory – or that appears to be discriminatory – against our customers or employees.

All of United’s customer-facing employees undergo annual and recurrent customer service training, which includes lessons in cultural awareness. Customer-facing employees for Shuttle America also undergo cultural sensitivity training, and United will continue to work with all of our partners to deliver service that reflects United’s commitment to cultural awareness.”