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."
I have been saying this since the plot from a week ago. The security people aren't nearly as vested in the interests of any particular flight since THEY AREN'T ON IT. We, the passengers, however, must consider the passengers on the plane we are on.
I think this is great. Frankly, I'd like to see more passengers do this. While I am sure there may be some false alarms, more likely, I think a group of passengers would make far better profilers, screeners, etc.
How can we put you in charge?
I look at it like this: keep the Muslims off the plane. It won't fix everything, but would probably solve about 95 percent of this crap. If they don't like it, they can police their own. In a recent poll, a rather large number of them thought suicide bombing was appropriate for some circumstances, so I say, keeping these bums off the plane is appropriate in all circumstances. They can get their own airlines.
Correct, Should I ever board a plane again I will be looking for my fellow passengers to never allow this to happen again. I think the Mooselimbs have figured that out.
The website still says there are no reader comments. Interesting.
Tough for them. I might shed a tear (not). Let them buy their own freaking planes with all their oil money. They can have an oil for planes thing. They shouldn't be flying with us anyway: women have arms exposed - oh my. It's bad enough the passport agency wouldn't accept one family's photo of their 8 year old daughter because her shoulders were bare - just in case that passport would go through a middleeastern country. Some times it's like we still live in the dark ages.
Nobody says it's a perfect plan, but it works for me. Anything that cuts down the possibilty of being blown to oblivion is good.
Yeah - Snakes on a Plane or Muslims on a Plane.
I'll take snakes any day...
In the U.S. "Asians" are people from the far East such as China, Japan, Korea. In the U.K. "Asians" are from the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, and far Easterners are "Oriental." For some reason it is considered offensive here to refer to a far Easterner as "Oriental."
Your last paragraph was excellent. Nothing is worth your life, so if in doubt, don't get on the plane. Maybe the execs will wake up, as you said, if enough people desert.
Snakes on a Plane is a ghetto flick with a bunch of hood rats swearing etc......Nothing to see here, move on.
Glad it was a safe flight. It would've creeped me out too. I probably would've said something nasty to the jerk.
That's hysterical - the only problem is orthodox Jews can't eat pork either.
Amen! PC will be the death of us all.
Jews can pet pigs. They just won't eat them.
Like I said many times, they ban everything from flights but the most risky; namely Muslims. Water bottles, hair lotion, deoderant, all banned but Mohammed saying the Allah Akabar gets to stay.
It is fascinating to read the comments here. There are some that question the actions of the travelers and imply there is no real way to openly profile the Mid East folks.
Sure there is. It just takes a brass set to make it law.
The U.S. government will NEVER do that. Never ever ever! We would rather go to our grave than to be labelled RACIST. It is NOT racist - it is REALITY. Profiling WORKS.
So basically we are all rolling the dice with each flight. Sure, most will have no problems. But we all have read incidents about how some Muslims act irrationally, or try to intimidate fellow passengers (specifically the lady who wrote the "Terror in the Skies" article in Womens Wall Street magazine).
It is easy to laugh it off or poke fun at the customers who get off the plane or chide those who suggest more intense profiling and scrutiny for Mideast males, even after 9/11.
But it wouldn't have been so damn funny if those plots to blow up airliners out of the UK had not been foiled.
And it will NOT be funny when the second strike is successful. Mark my words, it is going to happen. Everyone will rally around the flag again, and we will shed tears for the American victims. And then we will settle back into our lethargy AGAIN, convinced that Big Brother will put down the threat.
But it is going to be different since the next strike will be pretty much on this homefront. The Islamofacists are bringing the battle to us. The war is definitely coming to our backyard.
So what do concerned American citizens do?
Profile regardless. Everywhere. Not just in airport terminals. But in restaurants, malls, schools - EVERYWHERE. Openly point out those you suspect. These murderers are counting on our PC politeness and our intrinsic nature to not "raise a stink in public". This country has got to be willing to do what is required to protect, preserve, and defend the Constitution. Right now, they are basically half assing it.
I have one flight that I must take in mid September. That will be my last one (by choice, I hope!) for a LONG time. The airlines have pretty much lost a customer that used to fly between 4-6 times a year.
I don't plan to fly anywhere; I'll drive and trust my own instincts and do my own profiling. I'll pretty much live in a 1,000 mile radius of my home town.
Armed Black Muslims seized federal buildings in the 1970s. Several people were killed before the matter was settled and others were given long prison terms.
Margaret Thatcher was a Torie. Winston Churchill too.
That actually wouldn't do any good. The terrorist have a loophole in their teachings that says "the necessities allow the prohibited". This is why terrorist cells can blend into the general public. The necessity of their mission for the greater good of Islam allows them to eat pork, drink alcohol and have relations with women, so they would have no problem chomping down on a pork chop.
Look at it this way, we call people from Canada, Canadians, even though they're from AMERICA. It's fine to be more specific. While it is true the Mideast is in Asia, I differentiate between Chinese, Japanese, Mongolian, peoples, as opposed to Semitic and Arabic peoples. I think most people do.
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