In a letter to Airlines for America (A4A), which represents all of the US major carriers except for Delta Air Lines, members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus has requested greater clarity on how it is working to mitigate racial and religious profiling by airlines. The lawmakers are concerned about rising incidences where Muslim and Arab American passengers have been removed from aircraft on suspicion of terrorism without concrete evidence.
“Airlines are entrusted with enormous responsibilities to keep our skies safe while respecting the rights of passengers,” the lawmakers wrote. “No airline passenger should be subject to discriminatory treatment on the basis of the passenger’s religion or ethnicity.”
The letter asks A4A to outline what steps it is taking to prevent future acts of discrimination by its members.
“Flying while Muslim is not a crime and our airlines industry should not act as though it is,” Chu said in a separate statement. “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.”