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Paranoia strikes again - Muslim family kicked off their Airtran flight
Here we go again. Another family traveling for the holidays has been kicked off their flight after a fellow passenger observed them mentioning the word "safety". That's right, not "bomb", "terrorist" or "hijack". Just your average family of 9 trying to figure out where they wanted to seat.
Someone on board managed to get the attention of 2 federal air marshals, who then contacted their superiors in Washington. The family was then kicked off the plane, questioned by the FBI and of course, cleared of any wrongdoing.
The TSA then decided that the threat was so credible, that all 104 passengers would have to be re-screened, and that all their bags would have to be inspected again. To me, this means that they admit they may have done a crappy job during the first screening.
As if that wasn't enough, Airtran then refused to transport the 9 passengers and simply refunded their tickets. It took some effort by the FBI to find alternative flights for the family.
Good job Airtran, keeping us safe from people trying to find a decent seat on your flights. In their defense, AirTran did let the family know that they were free to fly with them in the future, which I'm sure they are really thrilled to hear.
(Via: NBC Washington)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
aprsn Jan 2nd 2009 4:15PM
If nothing was said the headline might have been another aircraft has flown into a building.
M-D Jan 2nd 2009 11:36PM
That's awfully reactionary, isn't it? Without all the facts, it's impossible to fully know what happened on that plane prior to the intervention of law enforcement. For all we know, the word 'safety' might have been used in relation to the 'safety' card, or to the fact that children (family of 9, right?) can't sit in exit rows for 'safety' reasons - which means that this while mess could have been a result of good parenting!
I'm astounded that, even after all this time, an overwhelming number of Americans still need to be reminded that not all Muslims are terrorists.