Mesa Air Group Inc (MESA)

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Bias suit filed by air passengers of Egyptian/Jordanian origin reinstated
Judy Greenwald

October 16, 2023

https://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20231016/NEWS06/912360454/Bias-suit-filed-by-air-passengers-of-EgyptianJordanian-origin-reinstated-Issam-

A federal appeals court on Friday reinstated a discrimination lawsuit filed by air passengers of Egyptian/Jordanian origin whose flight was canceled after a flight attendant said she had “gut” feeling they posed a safety concern.

The flight attendant, who was on a Mesa Airlines flight scheduled to leave Birmingham, Alabama, for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, grew concerned about two passengers, Issam Abdallah and Abderraouf Alkhawaldeh, who are American citizens, according to the ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans in Issam Abdallah; Abderraouf Alkhawaldeh v. Mesa Air Group, Inc.; Mesa Airlines Inc.

Her suspicions were based on factors including another passenger’s complaint that Mr. Abdallah had bullied him when he mistakenly asked for Mr. Abdallah’s seat, that Mr. Abdallah had waved to Mr. Alkhawaldeh, and because Mr. Abdallah had “preemptively” agreed to assist in an emergency.

The steward spoke with the plane’s captain, who discussed the situation with airport security. Although the ground security coordinator concluded there was no safety risk, the pilot delayed takeoff until the point where passengers had to deplane.

As Mr. Abdallah and Mr. Alkhawaldeh waited in line to reschedule their flights, they were interrogated and surveilled by police officers.

The men sued Phoenix-based Mesa for racial and national origin discrimination. The airline argued it had immunity under federal law, which allows an airline to remove passengers it fears might be dangerous. The U.S. District Court in Fort Worth granted the airline summary judgment.

The ruling was overturned by a three-judge appeals court panel. “The contention is that because all passengers experienced the same cancellation, no disparate treatment occurred….We disagree,” the ruling said.

Plaintiffs allege that but for their protected classes (race and national origin), the flight would not have been canceled. That is an allegation of disparate treatment,” the ruling said.

The federal law that permits airlines to remove passengers they feel are a threat to safety does not provide immunity for a discrimination claim “if a passenger’s protected status is the but-for cause of the airline’s decision to remove that passenger, thus rendering the airline’s action… ‘capricious or arbitrary,’” the panel said, in citing an earlier decision, and remanding the case for further proceedings.

Justin Sadowsky, an attorney with the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, who represented the plaintiffs, said in a statement, “The 5th Circuit found that a pilot refusing to fly someone because of their race violates the law. As we will show at trial, that is exactly what happened here.”

Mesa’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.