A United Flight Attendant who refused to give a Muslim chaplain an unopened can of coke won’t be serving customers in the future, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The flight attendant told Tahera Ahmad she couldn’t get the unopened can because it could be used “as a weapon.” yet the passenger next to Ahmad was given an unopened can of beer. When Ahmad pointed that out, a passenger across from her said “You Muslim, you need to shut the … up…You know you would use it as a weapon.”
Ahmad wrote about the incident on her Facebook page and it went viral.
“United does not tolerate behavior that is discriminatory – or that appears to be discriminatory – against our customers or employees,” the airline said in a statement. It has ordered the attendant to undergo sensitivity training and said she will no longer serve United customers.
Republic Airways Holdings, which runs United Shuttle, said it “deeply regrets the poor judgment and lack of sensitivity” and says there is no policy forbidding passengers from getting unopened beverage cans.
Ahmad works as a chaplain at Northwester University. You can read about her thoughts on this incident in the Los Angeles Times.
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