Editor's note:
Aisha is a white, Welsh woman who is also Muslim. She was travelling with her Arab husband. They were meant to take a holiday before his heart surgery. She was pulled off a flight by security, given no explanation and then KLM refused to put her on the next flight unless she paid £1500. She can be reached at the e-mail below.*************
Muslim Woman Writes Of Unfair Detention At UK Airport
Aisha Pritchard
Pentwyn Cardiff Dec 19, 2006: On Thursday 14th December 2006 my husband and I left our family home at 7.45am by taxi to go to Cardiff Airport. We arrived at the arrivals at 8.30am and stood in the queue at the KLM Check in. I went down to the ticket desk to ask what time the check in opened. I was told that it opened at 8.55am. I rejoined my husband and he said we should sit down on the seats directly opposite the queue for the flight.
By 8.45am the Check in was opened and by 8.50am we re-joined the queue for the check in. We checked in the luggage by 9.am and were issued with our E.tickets. We then proceeded to make our way upstairs to buy magazines, and buy a hot drink and cake.
At 10.25am we heard the call for our flight we went towards the Departure Lounge. We both were asked if we had any sharp objects or chemicals etc we replied no and the lady who was on the gate joked with us “That we must have something like perfume and deodorant” We told her no, as we had read not to take anything liquid with us in hand luggage. We proceeded through the “walk through scanner” and the machine went off on my husband and on me.
We were asked to stop and a lady put her hands all over my clothing and checked the bottom of my shoes she then told me “I was ok and to put my bag on the conveyer belt to go through the screening which I did. I collected it the other end of the belt. My husband was told “to remove his belt and watch” and walk back through he did so and the machine was fine. They gave him back his watch and belt and he was told to “place his rucksack on the conveyer belt for screening and it went through fine. I then to the duty free shop to buy some make-up and my husband went to the toilet. I was walking away from the duty free shop there was an announcement to board the aeroplane, the woman from the Duty Free shop came after me. I had left the boarding pass with her and she joked with me that “You won’t get far without this” and I just thanked her and we both gave a laugh.
Me and sadi went to the boarding gate, it was now 10.30am. When we approached the boarding gate there were two men standing there. They asked us if we were for the Alicante flight as that was now boarding and we replied by saying no. We were for the KLM flight to Dubai via Amsterdam. They asked for our passports and boarding cards. We gave them and the gentleman I gave mine to didn’t say anything to me at that moment. The gentleman that my husband gave his passport looked at it and gave it directly to his colleague.
His colleague then asked us if we were going direct to Amsterdam my husband replied yes but I interrupted as I knew what he had meant by adding we are going to Dubai but have to catch a connecting flight in Amsterdam. They both said that they would need to check our hand luggage and we offered it to them immediately. However they told us we would have to accompany them to a room to search through the bags. Whilst on the way to the room they asked us “Why are you going to Dubai?” “Have you got any on you? “How much money? We then arrived at the room and were told to sit down.
They both asked the following questions “Where we live, our names addresses and mobile phone numbers? We told them repeatedly the answers. Then one of them left the room, and then the other one then they both came back in the room. Then they asked us “Why were we going to Dubai? Did we have family there and if we worked. We answered the questions repeatedly Then they asked us Was I really married to my husband and our date of births? It was at this point that the one told the other to find a scrap of paper as he had been looking in the desk in front of him and found none. The other gentleman left the room and returned with a piece of paper. So once again they repeated the questions but only wrote down My Income, Our address, our mobile phone numbers home telephone number plus our date of births. He then told the other gentleman to go and check them. All the time he was looking at our passports and asking our names addresses and why we were going to Dubai? We answered them then new questions came. How long my husband been in U.K.? Sadi said 25years. What was the name of his mother? Sadi said Sa’adiyah. What was his father’s name? Sadi said Ibrahim. Do you have Dual Nationality? I said no.
We were then told to empty the contents of our hand luggage on the desk. We did so and each gentleman looked through our hand luggage.
Then the questions started again Why were we going to Dubai I told them it was for a break for four days as Sadi is due to have Heart surgery in the next few months and there is a risk he could suffer a stroke. I told them I have seven children and we needed a break. In between all of this the other gentleman was coming in and out of the room. As there was nothing in our bags, and the gentleman who had been asking the questions stopped speaking he was doodling on the paper.
They both went outside the room and I told Sadi I don’t believe this but he told me “it’s ok be patient”. The next moment they both re-entered the room and the main gentleman told us they were going to remove our luggage from the aeroplane to search it. By this time I was in shock, they said” we have to go down and search your luggage is there any locks on the suitcases?” we said no, and then they went back out the room and came in saying “We have sent for the luggage to be brought up to the room. The time was 10.45am and the flight was due to leave at 10.55.
The other gentleman then left the room to bring the luggage, the room was silent. The luggage was brought into the room and we were told “to open it and I told him I can’t lift my case and the main gentleman lifted my suitcase on the desk. The other gentleman then looked through all Sadi’s luggage which he had emptied on the floor.
The main gentleman opened my case and I started to empty the case on the desk. He asked” what I had in two plastic bags? I told him one had shoes and showed him. The other bag was my underwear and he looked through it. He then wanted to look in my toilet bag which I gave to him. He also asked “Why my suitcase was lined with a towel? I told him I don’t like the smell of a suitcase on my clothes.
Both the gentlemen went outside the room after a few moments they returned the main gentleman then said “your flight has gone and the Captain would not wait”. At that point I became upset and burst into tears telling them that they can’t do this to us and that I would be going to a solicitor to sort this whole affair. Sadi then told them that they were in the wrong and had not done their job properly. That they had since 8.30am to question us and our luggage had been on the aeroplane since 9.am. They both replied by saying” we had arrived late”.
The main gentleman told us “don’t get upset and that they would put us on the next flight”. “Sadi told them “what if we end up stuck in Amsterdam for the night” He then told us again “He would sort it out”. We were told to accompany them to the KLM desk. We were led down through the Basement of the airport with the gentlemen pulling our suitcases and carrying our boarding passes and our passports. All the staff was watching us. It was now 11.05am.
We arrived at security double doors, and then could not go through as they were unable to access the doors. We waited there for between five and seven minutes. A female staff came passed and opened the doors for us to go. We then went through the Arrival Hall where there were cleaning staff looking at us as if we were criminals.
We then had to go outside the Airport Terminal to walk across to the Arrival Check In. Outside all the people arriving at the airport were looking at us along with all the Taxi drivers. It was so humiliating for us, everybody was staring. We then entered the Arrival hall and went to the KLM Ticket desk. The main gentleman gave the kLM Adviser the tickets and boarding passes and told her” To put us on the next flight”. She was typing at the computer and asked the advice from a colleague of hers.
Then she said”£1,500 pounds please”. I said you must be joking I’m not paying that. The main gentleman then told her to open the door as he wanted a word with her. I then told him when he came out “that he had better sort it out as they had detained us for no reason”. The main gentleman then left us and said “He would be back. He arrived back after about five minutes and told us “My boss said we can’t do anything for you. “I then said no way there must be something you can do? He replied “No and then I said “I was going to complain to a solicitor” and he said” you can do nothing about it”.
Then the other gentleman said “we already told you, you cannot do anything about it”. “You’re going round in circles and we have been there 20 times already”. I asked the lady from KLM if she could do anything for us and she told us that as our tickets were Non-Transferable we could not use them. “We would have to buy new ones”. That, “It was not the airlines fault that we missed the flight so they do not have to help us”.
I told them “they had to give me their names” They replied saying that they did not have to give me anything”. I told them” I was not leaving till they did”. The main gentleman told me “He would give me their numbers”. He also said “under the terrorism act we do not have to give you our names. He had a piece of paper off the KLM adviser and wrote on it the following South Wales Police Cardiff Airport D/C 3022 D/C 3933 I and Sadi were so upset, we just left the airport to go and get a taxi to go home.
Questions we would like answers to:
1. Why are passengers told to go to the airport at least two hours before a flight? By doing so, you then will have plenty of time to go through the necessary checks required.
2. Why were the luggage forwarded to the aeroplane and our E.tickets issued and our names put through the computer with no problems?
3. Why, was it only when we went to the boarding gate and they looked at Sadi’s passport, were we questioned and detained?
4. Why if we were a risk, was our luggage taken off the plane 1 hour and 45 minutes after it had been put on?
5. Why after checking did they not come and ask us questions?
6. Why did they deliberately delay us in catching the flight?
Our Comments and feelings
We understand that there has to be security measures at all airports. Even for us to travel on a plane we would expect it to be checked thoroughly.
It is the way we were treated we cannot accept. We feel we were deliberately stopped from boarding the plane. That it was racists, and only when Sadi told them they had not done their job properly they said we had arrived late.
We did not like to be told that we could go round in circles and can’t do anything about it. As I am white, British and this is the country of all my ancestors I feel absolutely ashamed that I am British and cannot do anything about the way I was treated. I feel I am paying a price for marrying a foreigner.
What happened to freedom and rights? Do I have to change my four daughter’s surname? To my maiden name like I have done for myself. I use my maiden name not married name due to racism. Are we always going to be subjected to this treatment due to the colour of my husband’s skin and where he was born?