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Passengers who “looked like terrorists” removed from Birmingham to Rome flight

Passengers who “looked like terrorists” removed from Birmingham to Rome flight

Categories: Latest News

Thursday May 19 2016

The Birmingham Mail reports on another suspected incident of “flying while Muslim” with news of two men being ushered off a Monarch Airlines flight to Rome on Sunday 15 May after fellow passengers accused them of “acting suspiciously”.

The local paper reports that West Midlands police were called to Birmingham Airport after receiving a complaint about two passengers “acting suspiciously on a plane at Birmingham International Airport.”

The flight was delayed as the two passengers were made to disembark and their luggage offloaded.

One of the passengers on the plane, Marsha De Salvatore, told the paper that the incident began when a man and a woman started airing concerns about boarding the flight. She said the man speaking to his wife said, “I’m not getting on the plane”, before stepping out of the boarding queue line.

The plane was then grounded as the two passengers were forced off the flight.

Dr Salvatore said the pilot relayed information to the remaining passengers describing the decision to remove the two travellers as “totally wrong”.

De Salvatore said “Not only was the plane delayed but I witnessed the sad reality of racism as these men were escorted off a boarded plane because others suspected them to be terrorists.

“The pilot told us: ‘What happened today was an act of total racism’.”

De Salvatore added, “While I’m happy that safety measures are in place, these people need to be careful about who they wrongly accuse.”

The two travellers were allowed to board a later flight after officers found no cause for concern.

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