Air Canada accused of delaying British MP's boarding "because his name is Mohammad"
A UK member of parliament is accusing Air Canada of stopping another British MP from boarding a flight “because his name is Mohammad.”
Labour Party MP Clive Betts discussed the incident on a point of order in the House of Commons on Monday.
He said fellow Labour MP Mohammad Yasin was pulled aside and questioned by Air Canada officials at Heathrow Airport “for a considerable period,” while other MPs he was flying with were allowed through.
MP Mohammad Yasin, Labour’s representative for Bedford, was recently stopped from boarding a flight to Canada along with fellow MPs due to his name, facing delays and questioning by officials from both Air Canada and the Canadian government.
Clive Betts, the committee chair,… pic.twitter.com/2WzxRjjSAu
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According to the BBC, Yasin said it was “humiliating,” as he was asked if he was carrying a knife or other offensive weapons.
Betts added that the questioning occurred despite Yasin having a visa to enter Canada.
While Yasin was eventually permitted to get on the Air Canada flight, Betts said he was “challenged” again at the airports in Montreal and Toronto.
The MP said that both Air Canada and Canada’s parliamentary secretary to the federal immigration minister have apologized to Yasin.
Still, Betts stressed that the incident’s “racist and Islamophobic nature” was “completely unacceptable.”
In an email statement to Daily Hive, Air Canada said that Yasin was designated for additional screening prior to his flight after a security check.
“He was still able to travel as planned as he was quickly cleared,” reads the statement.
The airline said it’s also conducting an internal investigation into how this incident was handled to ensure proper procedures were followed.
“We regret any inconvenience or upset this situation may have created for Mr. Yasin and have reached out to apologize,” it added.
This isn’t the only time Air Canada has been called out by a government official this past week.
The airline was slammed by Canada’s chief accessibility officer over the weekend after she was left stranded without a wheelchair.
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