Hijacking fears delay US flight
- 13 years ago
Controversy in the US.
A US Airways flight is delayed after one passenger claims several Arab students were plotting a hijacking.
The students, from the United Arab Emirates, were eventually cleared after several hours of questioning.
That left some upset by what they called racial profiling by fellow passengers.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) YAQOOB ALSHAMSI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES STUDENT, RESCREENED, SAYING:
"We are not blaming the police, we are not blaming the police, those men were really good men. They were doing their jobs. But the people, the way they think about, when they see a Middle Eastern guy walking into the airplane."
The students, among the UAE's best, were headed to a conference in Washington D.C. entitled, "Today's Students, tomorrow's leaders."
Andrew Raven, Reuters
A US Airways flight is delayed after one passenger claims several Arab students were plotting a hijacking.
The students, from the United Arab Emirates, were eventually cleared after several hours of questioning.
That left some upset by what they called racial profiling by fellow passengers.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) YAQOOB ALSHAMSI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES STUDENT, RESCREENED, SAYING:
"We are not blaming the police, we are not blaming the police, those men were really good men. They were doing their jobs. But the people, the way they think about, when they see a Middle Eastern guy walking into the airplane."
The students, among the UAE's best, were headed to a conference in Washington D.C. entitled, "Today's Students, tomorrow's leaders."
Andrew Raven, Reuters