2 men briefly off flight in U.S. for speaking Arabic

When he approached the gate, he said flight personnel turned them away because another passenger felt uncomfortable after overhearing the exchange, the Associated Press reports.

Philadephia pizza shop owner Maher Khalil emigrated from Palestine 15 years ago.

Two Palestinian-origin men were stopped from boarding a flight back home in the United States because a fellow passenger was scared to fly with them for speaking in Arabic, an incident showing public paranoia after the Paris attacks.

Khalil said he was chatting with a friend while waiting to board a Southwest Airlines flight. “I’m like: ‘Are you kidding me?” He says he had never experienced discrimination before the incident Wednesday at Midway global Airport. “Are you serious? Is this a prank or something?'” The flight was delayed as the men were questioned, but they were ultimately let on board. When he opened the box, there was nothing but baklava, a sweet treat, inside the box, which he shared with a few of the passengers.

In two separate incidents this week, Southwest Airlines has kicked off Arabic-speaking passengers off their flights following customer complaints.

“We’re walking down the aisle and I’d already told him (Ayyad) to smile and act like nothing was wrong”.

“Everybody looked at us like we are terrorists- give us that looks”, said Khalil.

People asked what was in a small white box Khalil had with him.

A spokesman for the airline said: ‘Flight 6599 departed ten minutes behind schedule on Wednesday following a brief disagreement with two customers during the boarding process.

A woman and three men described by fellow passengers as being of Middle Eastern descent were escorted off a plane headed to Chicago’s O’Hare global Airport when a witness reported suspicious activity to the flight crew, the Baltimore Sun reported, citing police. “There is a passenger who doesn’t feel safe”, Khalil told FOX 29. Because I’m Arab, I can not ride the airplane? I’m one of them.