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."
Why does it chap your hide so that the passengers acted in their own best interests? Do you have a personal problem with what you consider to be untoward emotion? It seems so. Or, are you overly sensitive about Arab/Muslim profiling because in some way you identify with them? I'm trying to get at why this is an issue for you...
The term is queue, and should be familiar to computer scientists. The present participle verb form is notable for having five consecutive vowels (trivia question: what word in the Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary has seven consecutive consonants?)
Multiple Choice Test
1. In 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles by
(a) Superman,
(b) Jay Leno,
(c) Tiger Woods,
(d) a man from Palestine between 17 and 40 years old.
2. In 1972, 11 Israeli athletes were kidnapped and killed at the Munich Olympics by
(a) the kid who cuts your grass,
(b) Sitting Bull,
(c) Arnold Schwarzenegger,
(d) Muslims between 17 and 40.
3. In 1979, the US Embassy in Tehran was over-ran & 90 Americans were held for 444 days by
(a) Bruce Lee,
(b) Elvis Presley's deceased twin brother,
(c) a tour group of Minnesota grandmothers,
(d) Muslims between 17 and 40.
4. During the 1980s, several Americans were kidnapped in Beirut by
(a) O J Simpson,
(b) the king of Sweden,
(c) the pope and a gang of Cardinals,
(d) Muslims between 17 and 40.
5. In 1983, the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon was blown up, killing 220 Marines, by
(a) a Domino's Pizza delivery man,
(b) the president of the Southern Baptist Convention,
(c) Catherine Zeta-Jones,
(d) Muslims between 17 and 40.
6. In 1985, the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70-year-old American passenger thrown overboard in his wheelchair by
(a) Sugar Ray Leonard,
(b) your next door neighbor,
(c) the Little Mermaid,
(d) Muslims between 17 and 40.
7. In 1985, TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens and a U.S. Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by
(a) Captain Kangaroo,
(b)Walt Disney,
(c) Mother Teresa,
(d) Muslims between 17 and 40.
8. In 1988, Pan American Flight 103 was destroyed by a bomb in midair by
(a) Butch Cassidy,
(b) the Sundance Kid,
(c) the Tooth Fairy,
(d) Muslims between 17 and 40.
9. The World Trade Center was bombed the first time in 1993 by
(a) Stonewall Jackson,
(b) Michael Jordan,
(c) Winston Churchill,
(d) Muslims between 17 and 40.
10. In 1998, U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by
(a) Santa Claus,
(b) your sister's cat's grandmother's first owner's son's basketball coach's ex-wife,
(c) the World Wrestling Federation,
(d) Muslims between 17 and 40.
11. On September 11, 2001, airliners were hijacked to crash into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by
(a) Bugs Bunny,
(b) Bob the Tomato,
(c) Ricky Martin,
(d) Muslims between 17 and 40.
12. In 2002, Daniel Pearl of the Wall Street Journal was kidnapped and beheaded by
(a) Bonnie and Clyde,
(b) the Michelin man,
(c) Barney Fife,
(d) Muslims between 17 and 40.
13. In July of 2005, several targets were attacked in central London, killing 52 persons, by
(a) the Orkin Man,
(b) Margaret Thatcher,
(c) Mr. Goodwrench,
(d) Muslims between 17 and 40.
add the USS Cole, Nick Berg's beheading and the Barcelona bombings
You may have something interesting to share, but your writing style makes it impossible to read. Not a flame, just the truth.
~ Blue Jays ~
This could get out of hand, but it is the fault of the transportation authorities not being aggressive enough in security checks. Many people believe that the checks might let folks through out of a sense of 'not offending', and that might be the one time that someone has murder in mind. Not every Middle Eastern man who is flying intends to kill himself and all the passengers with him, but ALL of the men who have done that have been Middle Eastern, so people are understandably worried.
The fact that these two guys were overdressed for the situation led folks to panic. Who knows; maybe they think that the airconditioning on the planes is too cold. After all, they're used to hot dry conditions.
If airline passengers could have faith that EVERY passenger will be thoroughly checked, maybe they wouldn't feel the need to take things into their own hands. Remember, al Queda is now recruiting blond, blue-eyed Chechen men, as well as women to do their dirty work. It's even possible that the woman who went ga-ga on the flight that was forced to land in Boston could have been used by her Pakistani boyfriend to bring a bomb on board. NO ONE can be discounted anymore.
Combine that with the chance that there are perhaps several more men on the plane that may make use of every device at their disposal to neutralize any individual that gets "goosey". Fly the friendly skies.
That's your problem.
Do you forget about Indians? What are they? They aren't the same race as Wing Lee.
I flew the first day planes were allowed in the sky again after 9-11. The two guys sitting next to me agreed that, if we saw anyone acting funny, we would not just back and wait. We would get up together and to something about it.
The sad thing is that I work networks and normally take some measure of pride in vocabulary. Thanks for clearing it up ;)
Yes sir, you are correct. If you must fly, look around at your fellow passengers. If you are like me, you'll pick out the three or four angry looking Muslims and ask the question...who are these guys and why are they on this flight. Yes, ask that question because I sure would. I would ask that these peace loving Muslims be questioned because people that look like them are murdering people. And if that offends anyone...TOO DAMN BAD!
Ma'am, the critique comes with my compliments, and free of charge.
I only regret that you dont appreciate it.
So, what if they fly on Muslim planes with Muslim pilots? Then they can all check each other and THEY can force the issue.
"The problem in this country (US) is that not all Muslims are Arabs"
Stop with the white all-American looking terrorist BS. The libs have been trying to pass this off to us for years. Every terrorist so far has been an rag headed a-rab pig f$c%er.
Intelligence documents CNN has obtained from two Western nations show Reid reported to al Qaeda's head of military operations, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed -- a self-confessed planner of the Sept. 11 attacks. Among Reid's assigned tasks was a scouting trip to Israel and Egypt, looking for locations for possible terrorist attacks, the documents show.Reid attempted his attack on American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami on December 22, 2001. I have wondered from the day it happened if Flight 587 was also a shoe bomb. Flight 587 happened one month after 9/11 and one month before Reid's attack. See a pattern?
Both were American Airlines. However Reid's jet was a Boeing 767 and Flight 587 was an Airbus A-300. Reid's flight 63 was a flight originating in London and bound for Miami, FLA. Flight 587 was from Kennedy to the Dominican Republic. A browner mix of skin color to both destinations.
Agreed. Works for me.
maybe like this
if it quacks in Arabic, carries a koran, and looks like a middle eastern man between 17 and 40, then it may very well be a muslim jihadist nutbag.
I wouldn't go that far but, I do think Muslims should only fly on planes where all passengers are Muslim and flown by Muslim pilots. That way those planes wont need to be searched for bombs.
My new tagline... Thank you.
Fly...yes. Arrive at their destination in the usual manner...crapshoot
No, they dont call folks from the mideast "Asian". They call people from the Indian subcontinent Asian. People from the middle east are known just as arabs.
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