Airline Kicks Woman Off Flight, Because She Can't Sit Next to Men

[Marr]

Hakima Abdulle of Takoma Park was flying from Washington, D.C., to Seattle Wednesday when she was seated between two men after a layover in Chicago, her husband, Abukar Fidaw, told WJLA.

The devout Muslim, who is from Somalian descent and was wearing a hijab, felt uncomfortable sitting between two people of the opposite sex, so she asked another passenger to trade seats. The other flyer agreed, but a flight attendant confronted Abdulle before she could move to the new spot, Fidaw said.

“She tried to sit but (the flight attendant) said, ‘You are not going to sit. You have to leave the airplane,’” Abukar Fidaw said. Humiliated, Abdulle left the plane as instructed. She was booked onto another flight later that day.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/muslim-woman-kicked-southwest-flight-article-1.2603853

[JustAnotherGen]

1. She solved the problem herself

And they still kicked her off? Yet when it's men with that type of belief the woman gets moved to another seat?

Interesting.

[smirkymonkey]

3. Yes, just what I was thinking.

Men are accommodated. Women are removed from the situation. Hardly seems fair.

[brer cat]

4. Funny how this works, isn't it?

No, not funny. Predictable and sadly not surprising. sigh.

[suffragette]

2. What a strikingly different action than those

That have been taken when women have had to move out of deference to men.

[Egnever]

5. Two different airlines

Not really surprising their policies would be different.

In my opinion the people complaining should have been booted in both cases. It is unreasonable to expect not to sit next to someone of the opposite sex on a commercial flight. That kind of behavior should not be tolerated from any sex.

[boston bean]

6. Never ever does sex/gender play a role. Never ever!

[Egnever]

7. it shouldn't

[boston bean]

8. Right.

[LeftyMom]

9. Southwest does not have assigned seating.

[MicaelS]

10. Agreed. What's next?

Single gender airline flights?

[davidn3600]

13. Probably since everyone wants a "safe space" these days

[suffragette]

15. Which time? There seem to have been a number of times women were asked and expected to

move to another seat.

[Egnever]

16. Which time what?

in my opinion the person complaining about sitting next to the opposite sex should be booted every time.

[suffragette]

18. Not just two different airlines. Several airlines have apparently requested women move

When men complained.

In the case of the OP, as noted in another post, these weren't even assigned seats and the woman had already made an amicable arrangement to change her seat with someone else.

[mythology]

11. Not to defend the airline as either way they would be wrong

But is this possibly a case of religious bias rather than gender?

Plenty of Muslim men (or those who look like they might be Muslim) have been taken off a plane for stupid reasons like the mathematician kicked off for doing math.

[oberliner]

12. This story is six months old (from April)

Not sure if you realize that.

[geardaddy]

14. Southwest - the shitty airline.

[Skittles]

21. I disagree

it's my favorite airline

[Igel]

17. It rings false.

If she'd quietly worked out a seat change with somebody else I suspect there'd have been no problem. But the way she put it makes it sound like the decision to boot her was made prior to the compromise.

Now, I've never known a flight attendant to make this kind of decision prior to some problem. Either the passenger is loud and confrontational, is abusive, or is holding up things (like departure) when permission to leave has been granted and everybody's just waiting for him (or her).

Did anything like this happen?

Dunno.

Would the woman have reported this had it happened?

Hardly likely.

In other words, this is one of those, "I'm arrested for not signaling," only to find that the non-signaller cut off somebody, almost produced a crash, and when a cop tried to pull him over decided to do 60 in a 30-mph zone in order to avoid possible arrest. Yet it's still, "arrested for not signalling."

[Major Nikon]

19. I suspect there was a lot more to the story

There's no assigned seating with Southwest. You sit wherever you want. Nobody would have cared if she arranged to switch seats with someone.

[Skittles]

20. Southwest does not have assigned seating

people switch seats all the time

not sure what the real story is here but like most, some details seem to be missing