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Sikh Religious Musicians Settle
with US Airways After Wrongful Removal From Flight
United Sikhs and ACLU of Northern California Advocate for Air Travel
Without Discrimination
WSN Network
Three
internationally renowned Sikh religious musicians have reached a
settlement with US Airways one year after they were removed from a
flight at the
Sacramento
nternational
Airport in an incident of racial profiling and discrimination. After
the removal, the trio filed a formal complaint with the Department
of Transportation. The Ragi Singhs, Davinder Singh, Gulbag Singh and
Iqbal Singh, perform in Sikh Gurdwaras around the world.
Despite federal
law prohibiting airlines from targeting and removing passengers
based on their religious or ethnic appearance, the trio was
subjected to biased treatment from US Airways after passengers
expressed baseless concerns about the musicians’ appearance.
“Airlines must
do everything they can to ensure their passengers’ rights to be
free from discrimination. Flying with a turban is not a security
threat,” said Jaspreet Singh, Staff Attorney for United Sikhs.
On
November 15,
2008, the three Sikh Ragis were preparing to travel from
Sacramento
to Salt Lake City, via Phoenix, for a performance. Shortly after
passing through TSA screening without incident and peacefully
boarding a US Airways flight, the men were ordered to leave the
plane. They omplied with the removal. However, airline employees did
not provide any explanation as to why they were being removed, but
they were told, through a Punjabi interpreter, hat the pilot would
not fly with them on board.
After suffering
humiliation in front of other passengers, the musicians were each
handed a $5 meal voucher and forced to delay their travel until the
next day. They experienced no problems boarding the Delta flight on
which they were rebooked.
To date, the
airline has failed to provide any legitimate security concerns
justifying the removal.
“Religious
freedom and the right to be free from racial profiling apply to
everyone,” said Andre Segura, an attorney with the American Civil
Liberties Union of Northern California. “Passengers do not have veto
power over flying with people whose ethnic or religious appearance
makes them uncomfortable. Likewise, airlines do not have a license
to discriminate.”
As terms of the
settlement, the Chairman and CEO of US Airways issued an apology to
the Ragis who also received an undisclosed amount in compensation
for the incident. Also, the airline has updated its training
materials and distributed a bulletin reminding its employees of the
company’s antidiscrimination policy.
This settlement
comes just after US Airways’ recent settlement in a federal lawsuit
in which six Muslim religious leaders alleged that they had been
removed from a flight based on their religious and ethnic
backgrounds. The
Sacramento area
houses the largest Sikh community in the
United States.
The ragis reside in India, but frequently travel to the United
States and elsewhere around the globe for religious performances.
16
December 2009 |
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