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July 30, 2007

A Fitting End To Three Hours On A Runway

Topics: Understanding Islam

Furious passengers whistled and clapped when three Arab princesses, wearing traditional Arab dress and returning from a day's shopping in Milan, were thrown off a packed British Airways flight after refusing to sit next to male passengers they didn't know:

The women, all relatives of the oil-rich emir of Qatar, Bader Bin Khalifa Al Thani, were booked into business class in a party of eight which included the emir and an entourage of cooks, servants and other staff.

After passengers had fastened their seat-belts and the plane had taxied on to the runway, two male passengers in the entourage got up to protest about where the women were sitting.

According to the customs of Qatar and other Gulf states, women are not allowed to mix with men who are not relatives.

Cabin crew tried to rearrange the seats but passengers travelling together refused to give up their allotted places. The captain tried to mediate but after more than two and a half hours of wrangling he ordered the bulk of their royal party off the plane.

It is understood that five of the eight - including the princesses and the men who left their seats to protest - were removed.

Police and diplomats from the Qatar consulate in Milan were also called in before the plane eventually took off. The rest of the Qatar party left Milan later on an Alitalia flight.

Surely the passengers would agree with me when I say, "Enough already, the time has long come that those in the Arab and Muslim world that choose to remain in the Middle Ages, join the modern world." Throwing the disruptive passengers off the plane was indeed, a fitting end to the incident. But the "princesses" and their male companions should have been thrown off the plane three hours earlier!

hat tip - Harry Owens

Posted by Richard at July 30, 2007 6:43 AM

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