4 Arab-American Passengers Questioned
Friday September 21 10:45 AM ET
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Four Arab-American men were removed from a Northwest plane when the flight crew raised security concerns, then were allowed to board a later flight, the airline said.
Airline spokesman Doug Killian would not say what the worries were. Northwest employees escorted the men off Thursday's flight to Salt Lake City, and they were questioned by local law enforcement officers, he said Friday. The plane took off while they were being questioned.
Three of the men, however, told reporters in Salt Lake City that they were removed because other passengers refused to fly with them on board. The men refused to give their names and said they felt discriminated against.
The three - a man, his brother and a friend - said they had flown Thursday morning from Philadelphia, where they went through extensive security. In Minneapolis, they were questioned at length before they were allowed to board the connecting flight, they said.
When the other passengers refused to fly if the three remained on board, Northwest required them to get off, they said.
Killian said that under Federal Aviation Administration rules, ``the airline has no choice but to re-accommodate a passenger or passengers if their actions or presence make a majority of passengers uncomfortable and threaten to disrupt normal operations of flight.''
Copyright © 2001 The Associated Press.