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."
Sounds more to me like a victory for common sense, and for law-abiding Westerners who've had quite enough of your coddling the Muslims. The message is "If you won't profile them, we will." Better listen up or the mutinies will spread.
They didn't cuddle the men, no, but they acted in what they saw was their interests.
The passengers acted RATIONALLY.
When the leaders won't lead the people, THE PEOPLE MUST LEAD THE LEADERS.
OMG.
Best post I've read today.
From this article, it won't be long before people will refuse to fly. Can airlines survive with only Muslim passengers?
The magnitude of their acts notwithstanding, they were still terrorists. Whether it was 168 people that died in the OKC bombing or 3000+ in the WTC attacks, both were nonetheless acts of terror.
Several years ago my wife and I had a late night flight from Philadelphia to Indianapolis.
Four Arabs boarded right after we did and sat behind us.
Spoke in Arabic the whole time and had evil eyes for anyone that looked at them.
I was damn glad to get off that flight.
Yep. Snakes are better.
Fly? Yeah. Land? Less likely.
sounds good to me. i for one will do it.damn Pc pussies.
I love it!
Maybe this can become a standard, that people just don't get onplanes where Arabs fly...
Great, maybe the arabs will get motivated to control their own!
BUMP
This was not a victory for terrorists. This was a victory for civilization. The civilized person knows that muslims are not to be trusted. We no longer have to pretend otherwise.
How true. The West is long suffering and slow to anger, but the bloody history of the 20th Century shows that when it's back is to the wall, things get ugly fast. Dresden, Hamburg, Nagasaki,....
BS statement of the first magnitude! If passengers continue to observe and question their fellow travelers , perhaps those politically correct idiots will profile. This condition will change once air travelers have confidence in flight security rather than listening to the likes of Patrick Mercer. Those individuals who refused to fly are to be respected.
Here is a question for all..."What if anyone can opt out of a domestic flight due to what I shall label "security concerns". Will their tickets be refunded? If so, how many refunded tickets before the corporate airlines place enough pressure on the functionaries in government to begin profiling in earnest? Only then will the flying public trust the security promised.
And we still d**k around with these people afraid that we are going to offend someone. I'm living in the bizzaro world now. Musloons can cut you're head off and the MSM will somehow blame Bush. Muslooney's can be heroic suicide bombers but again Bush is to blame. I only have one question. When has the MSM/Libs/Dems ever blamed the terrorists for ANYTHING?
"Muslims do not understand our culture, and they don't know how close they are to being put down - hard."
Write and call your congresscritter.
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
This is what's called awareness raising in the public. People are beginning to understand what Islamofascism really is, and now we see the symptoms of that rising awareness.
Profiling is needed and should be applied. Any Muslim who wants to ride a plane should be cleanly shaven, well dressed, and in conformity with the acculturation process, instead of imposing personal values on Western society. Given all that this type of conformity would be in place, the man still could be a terrorist.
I celebrate the fact that the public in general is really beginning to understand, and is reacting accordingly, a very healthy thing, because it makes the politicians understand where their votes are, among other factors. Law enforcement also might be less reluctant to act on the hunches necessary to successful interdiction.
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