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."
Since the founding of Israel, Jews have come from all over the world to live there, so though the country may be Middle Eastern, the only Middle Eastern ethnic groups there at this point are the few Jews who had remained, or returned over the centuries, and the 'Palestinian' Arabs and Christians who have lived there since the majority of the Jews were dispersed. They only became known as 'Palestinian' after the British named the region Palestine. Before that, I'm not even sure what it was called. Maybe still Judea, as it was known during the time of the Roman Empire. I'm fuzzy on the history of the place before the British rolled in.
No, it is not worth it to me. Hysteria seems to rule now and its just sad that people think that putting a police state in the airports is doing any good.
And even sadder is the fact that many people right here on FR think that losing our Freedoms is worth it to make us "safe". I have reached my limit and now I don't fly unless absolutely necessary.
Guess what? Haven't flown since 2002, so it wasn't as necessary as I used to think it was.
Why not just make us all strip down naked, handcuff us, and allow no luggage. We'd be really safe then. Really now, where does this madness at the airports end?
Clorox and ammonia has killed many a housewife when mixed together while cleaning.
I agree. Stop flying.
Me too. Too bad we can't drive across the Atlantic. But the Muslims and their friends the PC police would probably find a way to screw that up too.
I've already posted my fear of the mideast guy sitting next to me, and in front of me...
..whether I overreacted or not...
..it was a very uncomfortable ride...and the plane was packed and not very clean, and the personnel were not the most wonderful.
..it was cramped, congested and depressing...
..although at that time, we could still bring our coffee, water, food on board....(because the stuff they give you is tasteless, dry and unappetizing)...
..still, it helped having comfort food and magazines, books, etc.----
-Now, I'm sure, all that has changed.
I too have had it with flying.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate whatever efforts they need to do in insure safety measures....
...but whether these 2 guys were profiled or not, they were still on the plane, and he did try to take my aisle seat.
Little things, I know....but it's not worth an anxious 4 hours.
I prefer driving from now on.
I can't disagree with that, but I can hope can't I? In the end Armageddon is likely to be Muslims against Infidels (us).
If Muslims don't like being treated this way, then let them root out the terrorists among them. Lift a finger against terrorism, and non-Muslim attitude might become friendlier.
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This is absolutely the key point.
Consider if people getting ready to get on a flight thought that another passenger had the Bird Flu or smallpox. The refusal to board would have been considered entirely justified.
"For those unfortunate two men to be victimised because of the colour of their skin is just nonsense."
Patrick Mercer, the Tory Homeland Security Spokesman, just doesn't get it.
These guys were not victimised. They were not removed from the airplane. They suffered no ill consequences at all, as far as I can tell. They just got a little more legroom on their flight.
Even if you contend that they suffered adverse consequences, it was not because of the colour of their skin. It was because they were acting suspiciously and dressed inappropriately for the climate. How many times do the Homeland Security types tell us to be vigilant and to look for clues just like these?
Finally, it is not unheard of for the terrorists to stage dry runs of their intended ops. Even if these two had nothing contraband on them, it does not mean that their mission is not to test the vigilance of passengers and security by acting suspiciously and dressing inappropriately. That way when the real bomber shows up, they know what to expect.
And, finally, my give a damn is busted on this one. If these two guys were ejected out an Emergency Exit at 30,000 feet, I might be able to work up some concern, but it would be a big effort.
"OK, fellow citizens, why don't we just start calling LAX and other passenger terminals and asking airlines, "Do you profile?" And when they say "No" tell them you won't fly with them for that reason."
Excellent idea, my dear Watson.
In the U.K. "Asians" are from the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, and far Easterners are "Oriental."
If one remembers their history, what is now Turkey was called Asia Minor, and/or Anatolia.
ping
"You are far more likely to die of deep vein thrombosis from sitting in front of your computer than you are to die on a plane from a terrorist attack...."
Not if you're sitting on your recliner with a laptop computer perched on your legs. LOL! My recliner is a lot safer place than a plane trip these days. And with my cats and my shawl, I'm all set to go into the sunset w/nary a plane to be seen in my future. I'm a grounded sort of person now, both mentally and physically. I was a white knuckle flyer. No loss to not fly at this point in my life; may a better person than I take that risk. I've done my traveling and flying in the days before terrorism set in (thank goodness), and a good travelogue on TV satisfies me now. Plus there is the whole of the USA to explore. I've seen a lot of it, and we are truly a beautiful and blessed country. See the USA, in your Chevrolet.....
"The trick is to make the Muslim world more afraid of us than they are of the terrorists in their midst."
Excellent analysis. One "technique" I would recommend is that the U.S. and other western countries threatened by radical Islamofascists, totally isolate all Muslims in order to protect our own. This would include not allowing any male Muslims, guilty or innocent, on planes flying to western countries, not allowing any immigration by Muslims to western countries, and deporting those in country already who appear to pose even the slightest threat potential, including those that are already U.S. citizens (remember home grown terrorists in U.K.) and all foreign aliens (greencards, visas, etc.).
Allow no Muslim students to attend our colleges and/or graduate schools. Totally isolate all of them. What doesn't exist in your country can't harm you. Of course, our politically correct government won't do this (same w/other western gov'ts); however it sure would pretty much solve the problem of terrorism, wouldn't it? Then, the only thing the Muslim countries that support terrorism could do would be to resort to conventional warfare, as the option of asymetric warfare from within western countries would be eliminated, if no Mulsims were allowed in. And if they resorted to conventional warfare, we could cream them, as they would all be in one place (their terrorist state) rather than spread out throughout the globe, a fifth column waiting to strike.
Maybe then the innocent Muslims (although I question that innocence, as too many silent Muslims acquiesce to what the terrorists among them do, either based on fear or on agreement with them), might figure out that their behavior is unacceptable to the rest of the world. Oh for governments with a spine.
Oh, no, I think thats not quite true!
Many of the Jews who live in Israel come from families that always lived in the middle east!
This includes Moshe Katsav (President of Israel, born in Iran), Shaul Mofaz (Former CGS of Israel, Born in Iran), Amir Peretz (Moroccan jewish, currently defence minister), Silvan Shalom (Tunisian jewish, formerly deputy PM).
Theres lots of Mizrahi jews in Israel (although Im sure the ashkenaz are the largest group of course).
Im not even counting turkish jews etc. as middle eastern.
So, as I was saying theres plenty of mideastern jews, and plenty of european jews... its just a really diverse ethnic mix....
Guenevere,thank you for the expanded version. I read your previous post last night and my mouth dropped open, literally. I couldn't believe the guy was arguing with you about the aisle seat being his. Typical intimidation tactic by the Muzzie, especially agaianst a woman. I wondered why he would argue about something so obvious, i.e., what seat assignment he had.
Brava to you for standing your ground. You mentioned crying, but it must have taken a lot of resolve to counter this bully, but good for you!
Agreed, this has now reached the tipping point. It is too much hassle to fly anymore. Like those British passengers in Spain, passengers have to do their own profiling.And you're right, it is not like flying is this wonderful thing--it is more and more like being on crowded bus, only traveling in the sky rather than on a city street.
And take matters into our own hands.
Good for you for not allowing Achmed to get your aisle seat.
I agree. I get stopped a lot at the airport in Spain, because I had my passport stolen (God only knows what terrorist is using it now!) and because I come for relatively long periods of time - sometimes to go to a conference, sometimes not - and then simply travel around and hang out with friends. Being stopped and interrogated really doesn't bother me, and I just consider it a normal event. I'm not lying, everything I say can be verified, and that's that.
I entirely agree that screening should not be restricted to people who obviously come from a Middle Eastern or SE Asian country. And you're also right - Israel can do this type of screening because it's a fairly small country, and there are actually many enemies who can't travel to and from Israel legitimately (if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport, some Muslim ME countries will not admit you). I'm not sure what we can do in the US, because there is no earthly way we could give that detailed an inspection to every passenger going through our terminals.
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