A muslim woman was removed from an American Airlines flight after a white man complained that he felt uncomfortable with her on the plane.
Media figure Amani al-Khatahtbeh was put in handcuffs and taken off an AA flight.
The founder of Muslim Girl and the first Muslim woman to run for Congress in New Jersey was due to fly from Newark to Charlotte, North Carolina on 14 November.
However, according to the Independent the woman was arrested after an incident involving a white male passenger. Al-Khatahtbeh was reportedly singled out and taken off her flight after the man complained that her presence was making him ‘feel uncomfortable’. The media figure shared her story on Twitter as she posted the following thread:
I had the craziest experience in TSA this morning.
An entitled white man behind me insisted on cutting me in line because I was “still taking my shoes off.”
When I said he could wait like everyone else, he started going off about how he’s “pre check” and “first class” 1/3
— AMANI (@XOAMANI) November 14, 2020
I had the craziest experience in TSA this morning.
An entitled white man behind me insisted on cutting me in line because I was “still taking my shoes off.”
When I said he could wait like everyone else, he started going off about how he’s “pre check” and “first class” 1/3
— AMANI (@XOAMANI) November 14, 2020
He then proceeded to not only shove his things before mine, but then RUN THROUGH THE MACHINE and TSA did NOTHING!
Not only did they not do anything, a TSA officer had the audacity to tell ME to “cut it out.” 2/3
— AMANI (@XOAMANI) November 14, 2020
Following this, the man had made a complaint about her and she was subsequently taken off the flight.
Y’all know if I, a VEILED MUSLIM WOMAN, had the audacity to throw a temper tantrum and run through TSA security, I would have gotten BODIED. I would have been detained, missed my flight, possibly gotten charged, etc.
We need to resurrect the @muslimgirl #ShitTSASays column. 3/3
— AMANI (@XOAMANI) November 14, 2020
Guys he made a complaint about me and @AmericanAir is attempting to remove me from the flight
— AMANI (@XOAMANI) November 14, 2020
In addition to AMANI’s tweets, another passenger also shared footage and images on Twitter:
In a statement to The Hill, American Airlines commented on the incident:
Initial witness accounts indicate the conflict began during TSA screening. Both PreCheck and non-PreCheck screening were consolidated into one open lane. Our understanding is that Ms. al-Khatahtbeh believed the other passenger, who is enrolled in PreCheck, was getting favorable treatment because he was allowed to proceed through security while she was removing her shoes […] This led to a verbal altercation that continued through the terminal and on the plane where Ms. al-Khatahtbeh confronted the passenger and began filming him before taking her seat.
Nihad Awad, the National Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in New Jersey released a statement claiming that “The airline must immediately explain why it singled out Amani by contacting the police and ejecting her from a flight based on the word of a man who had allegedly harassed her.”
