San Diego, October 07: A Muslim-American woman who was removed from a plane in San Diego last spring sued Southwest Airlines on Thursday, alleging she was discriminated against because she was wearing a head cover.
Irum Abbasi, a psychology graduate student at San Jose State University who is a US citizen, filed the lawsuit in federal court in San Diego, said her lawyer James McElroy.
Abbasi, a mother of three, was taken off the San Jose-bound flight in March as it was about to depart after a flight attendant thought she heard her say “it’s a go” on her cellphone.
Abbasi “was horrified, embarrassed, humiliated and confused,” the lawsuit stated. In fact, Abbasi had said “I have to go” because the plane was about to depart, according to the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.
Abbasi was searched and given clearance to reboard the flight within three minutes, but the pilot claimed the crew was uncomfortable flying with her and refused to allow her aboard.
She was given an apology, a voucher and a boarding pass for the next San Jose flight. As a result, she missed a critical research experiment that she needed to be able to complete for her graduate studies, the lawsuit said.
Chris Mainz, spokesman for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co., said the airline apologised to Abbasi for her inconvenience and her concerns were addressed “in good faith.”
-Agencies