Posted on 08/19/2006 4:54:48 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
British holidaymakers staged an unprecedented mutiny - refusing to allow their flight to take off until two men they feared were terrorists were forcibly removed.
The extraordinary scenes happened after some of the 150 passengers on a Malaga-Manchester flight overheard two men of Asian appearance apparently talking Arabic.
Passengers told cabin crew they feared for their safety and demanded police action. Some stormed off the Monarch Airlines Airbus A320 minutes before it was due to leave the Costa del Sol at 3am. Others waiting for Flight ZB 613 in the departure lounge refused to board it.
The incident fuels the row over airport security following the arrest of more than 20 people allegedly planning the suicide-bombing of transatlantic jets from the UK to America. It comes amid growing demands for passenger-profiling and selective security checks.
It also raised fears that more travellers will take the law into their own hands - effectively conducting their own 'passenger profiles'.
The passenger revolt came as Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary was accused of using the terror crisis to make money. Government sources say he boasted to an official at the Transport Department: "Every time I appear on TV, I get a spike in sales."
The Tories said the Government's failure to reassure travellers had led the Malaga passengers to 'behave irrationally' and 'hand a victory to terrorists'.
Websites used by pilots and cabin crew were yesterday reporting further incidents. In one, two British women with young children on another flight from Spain complained about flying with a bearded Muslim even though he had been security-checked twice before boarding.
The trouble in Malaga flared last Wednesday as two British citizens in their 20s waited in the departure lounge to board the pre-dawn flight and were heard talking what passengers took to be Arabic. Worries spread after a female passenger said she had heard something that alarmed her.
Passengers noticed that, despite the heat, the pair were wearing leather jackets and thick jumpers and were regularly checking their watches.
Initially, six passengers refused to board the flight. On board the aircraft, word reached one family. To the astonishment of cabin crew, they stood up and walked off, followed quickly by others.
The Monarch pilot - a highly experienced captain - accompanied by armed Civil Guard police and airport security staff, approached the two men and took their passports.
Half an hour later, police returned and escorted the two Asian passengers off the jet.
'There was no fuss or panic'
Soon afterwards, the aircraft was cleared while police did a thorough security sweep. Nothing was found and the plane took off - three hours late and without the two men on board.
Monarch arranged for them to spend the rest of the night in an airport hotel and flew them back to Manchester later on Wednesday.
College lecturer Jo Schofield, her husband Heath and daughters Emily, 15, and Isabel, 12, were caught up in the passenger mutiny.
Mrs Schofield, 38, said: "The plane was not yet full and it became apparent that people were refusing to board. In the gate waiting area, people had been talking about these two, who looked really suspicious with their heavy clothing, scruffy, rough, appearance and long hair.
"Some of the older children, who had seen the terror alert on television, were starting to mutter things like, 'Those two look like they're bombers.'
"Then a family stood up and walked off the aircraft. They were joined by others, about eight in all. We learned later that six or seven people had refused to get on the plane.
"There was no fuss or panic. People just calmly and quietly got off the plane. There were no racist taunts or any remarks directed at the men.
"It was an eerie scene, very quiet. The children were starting to ask what was going on. We tried to play it down."
Mr Schofield, 40, an area sales manager, said: "When the men were taken off they didn't argue or say a word. They just picked up their coats and obeyed the police. They seemed resigned to the fact they were under suspicion.
"The captain and crew were very apologetic when we were asked to evacuate the plane for the security search. But there was no dissent.
"While we were waiting, everyone agreed the men looked dodgy. Some passengers were very panicky and in tears. There was a lot of talking about terrorists."
Patrick Mercer, the Tory Homeland Security spokesman, said last night: "This is a victory for terrorists. These people on the flight have been terrorised into behaving irrationally.
"For those unfortunate two men to be victimised because of the colour of their skin is just nonsense."
Monarch said last night: "The captain was concerned about the security surrounding the two gentlemen on the aircraft and the decision was taken to remove them from the flight for further security checks.
"The two passengers offloaded from the flight were later cleared by airport security and rebooked to travel back to Manchester on a later flight."
A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Malaga said: "These men had aroused suspicion because of their appearance and the fact that they were speaking in a foreign language thought to be an Arabic language, and the pilot was refusing to take off until they were escorted off the plane."
So you ARE an ACLU lawyer, or perhaps Southern Poverty Law Center...?
Whenever my internal radar goes off you can be darned sure that I pay attention to it. A perceived threat, disregarded, can lead to victimhood.
The poster spoke of the arguing the passenger in question initiated about the airplane seat. Whatever made the posters radar go off, it was entirely appropriate to pay attention to it.
I'd say that somebody who is oblivious to their own instincts is dumber than a box of rocks. How's that grab you?
It doesn't sound like he did anything inappropriate. No offense, but it seems that you overreacted rather badly.
Looks like the Brits have far more backbone than do Americans. Kind of alludes to my comment earlier on another thread about Americans not willing to take action...
The American liberals hated the word "oriental" and incorrectly substituted "Asian" in its place.
These are the same ones who call Black Jamaicans "African-American".
I'm sorry that evidently in the UK, often they are referred to as "Asians".
Tell me. The Brits from South Africa had a whole different definition of G**K. Go figure.
I guess the term "middle east" hasn't made it everywhere yet.
If they want to be in the Middle Ages--put them there!
There are African Muslims as well. They are Africans.
Your problem is they were referred to by their origin rather than their religion.
"There is no law against not getting on a plane."
But I think there is a law about getting off one. I don't think you can get off after you've boarded.
Trucks--Lorries
Elevators--Lifts
Apartments--Flats
To the Hospital--To Hospital
Gasoline--Petrol
Call you--Ring you up
10 Years After--10 Years On
Cigarette--Fag
Fag--Bent
and
Middle Eastern, South Asian and East Asian--Asian
I agree. She started praying because he sat near her.
Hillarious.....
Actually, I'm guessing the captain asked them if it was OK by them to take a later flight, since the other passengers were in a snit, and they probably said OK.
To all you NERVOUS NANCYS out there. You can be an idiot, and do stupid stuff like this.
OR.
You can actually vote for people who DONT allow extremist muslims into your countries at all. Who DONT allow importation of islamist slime, as preachers, and clerics.
Who DO crack down at the first hint of such activity.
AND WHO KINDLY DONT ALLOW POLTICAL ASYLUM TO MUZZIES. IF SOMEONES GOT THE AXE OUT FOR THEM WHEREVER THEYRE COMING FROM, ITS PROBABLY FOR A GOOD REASON.
"Middle East" is not the name of a continent.
We are into apples and oranges here. This was not a matter of screening; this was a matter of passengers panicking when the wrong "profile" got on the plane.
They did not want to fly with two people, speaking a foreign language that kept looking at their watches and were dressed inappropriately for the climate, until they were re-screened. Sounds reasonable to me.
Their commonality was that they were Religion of Peace while they were at it, too.
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