A Muslim woman has filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation against Southwest Airlines, claiming the carrier denied her the opportunity to sit in a larger seat in an exit row because of her hijab.
A hijab is a headscarf worn by many women of the Muslim faith.
Fatima Altakrouri, who was born and raised in the United States and lives in Texas, says she was barred from sitting in an exit row seat because she was wearing a traditional hijab.
"It shouldn't happen," Altakrouri said during a news conference according to NBC Dallas.
Altakrouri said she and her sister were flying home from Florida, where they visited their ill mother, when the incident happened on May 22. She said she was initially told by a Southwest flight attendant that she couldn't sit in an exit row because passengers are expected to help evacuate the plane in case of an emergency and she couldn't speak English - even though she was speaking English.
"That's what makes it even more appalling," Altakrouri said.
Her attorney, Marwa Elbially, also claims the flight attendant said much the same thing to nearby passengers, saying Altakouri could not have the seat because she would "bring down the plane in an emergency because she doesn't speak English."
"To me, that made me look like I am some kind of a terrorist. I am not," Altakrouri said.
Altakouri's sister, Muna Kowni, does not wear a hijab and was allowed to sit in the exit row. She declined, however.
"I think the hardest part is when you actually have to get insulted and you have to stay quiet for three hours straight and not say a word," Kowni said.
In a statement to NBC 5, a Southwest Airlines spokesperson wrote, "Our reports do not support claims made by the passenger...individuals seated in an exit row are required to verbally indicate that they can perform certain duties inflight. Our Crew is responsible for getting that confirmation from a passenger before seating them in an overwing exit row and was unable to gain acknowledgment from the passenger during boarding. … Southwest neither condones nor tolerates discrimination of any kind."
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