Pasadena Congresswoman Calls on Airlines to Prevent Racial and Religious Discrimination on Flights

Monday, leaders of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) sent a letter to Airlines for America President Nicholas Calio calling for clearer guidance on racial profiling.

The letter comes after a series of recent incidents on airlines where perceived or actual Muslim and Arab Americans were suspected of terrorism or asked to deplane without concrete evidence.

Pasadena Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27), Chair of CAPAC, released the following statement:

“We have been warning about the costs of xenophobic and racist rhetoric in our political conversations. And now, as many continue to preach suspicion of Muslims, we are increasingly seeing the effects. In just the past year alone, there have been at least eight reported cases of alleged discrimination targeting airlines passengers based on their perceived race or religion. Flying while Muslim is not a crime and our airlines industry should not act as though it is. I look forward to hearing back and working with Airlines for America to understand what procedures are in place to evaluate current threats and to ensure that no passenger is the unfair target of racial or religious profiling. As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, I will continue to fight for policies that keep our skies safe and our passengers welcome.”