Four men from Brooklyn trying to fly home
together after a few days in Toronto last
December have filed a $9 million federal lawsuit
alleging that they were racially profiled as
Muslims and removed from an American Airlines
flight because the captain felt uneasy.
According to New York Daily News, two of the
four men are Bangladeshi American and Muslim,
one is Arab American and Muslim, and one is Sikh
American. All are U.S. citizens in their 20s.
Two other friends — one who is Pakistani
American and another who is Hispanic American
— were allowed to remain on the plane.
The group of friends told the Daily News that
they were originally booked on different return
flights, but then decided that they wanted to fly
home together. Shan Anand and Faimul Alam
paid $75 to switch to the same flight as their
friends. Two other friends identified as W.H. and
M.K. paid $70 to upgrade to business class.
Anand and Alam then switched seats with
strangers after boarding so that they could sit
next to each other.
After being asked to get off the plane, W.H. told
the Daily News that an airline agent said that the
captain felt uneasy because "there were
inconsistencies of our behavior traveling as a
group, because two of us upgraded and two of us
didn't."
"They were told to 'just be peaceful,' making it
seem like they were a threat, making other
passengers uncomfortable and wanting to get off
the flight," attorney Tahanie Aboushi, who is
representing the men, told the Daily News. "They
didn't cite any basis of inappropriate or
boisterous behavior; their situation wasn't a
security issue or threat."
Requests for comment to Aboushi by NBC News
were not immediately returned.
When the men asked if they were removed from
the plane because of their appearance — darker
skin, beards, and one Sikh turban — the agent
allegedly said their appearance "did not help."
The men were allowed to take the next American
Airlines flight home, the flight for which Anand
and Alam originally had tickets.
According to NBC New York, American Airlines is
reviewing the lawsuit.
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