DEARBORN — A Muslim family is demanding an apology from United Airlines after a flight attendant and a pilot removed them from a plane for “safety concerns.”

The parents and three children were boarding the plane at Chicago O’Hare on March 20 when the incident occurred.

United Airlines said the family was booted off the plane because a child’s booster seat brought on board did not meet federal safety regulations.

“They were originally scheduled to fly on SkyWest 5811, operating as United Express from Chicago O’Hare to Washington, D.C., but we rebooked them on a later flight because of concerns about their child’s safety seat, which did not comply with federal safety regulations,” United said in a formal statement. “Both United and SkyWest hold our employees to the highest standards of professionalism and have zero tolerance for discrimination.”

But according to Eaman-Amy Saad Shebley, the mother of the family, and who wears a headscarf, they were humiliated and treated poorly because of their faith.

Shebley said she had asked for an additional strap for the booster seat once the family boarded the plane, but a short time later the pilot approached them and said they had to be removed.

The family took their grievance to CAIR-Chicago, which stated concerns in regards to a growing number of Muslim customers being treated poorly for illegitimate reasons.

“We are tired of Muslim-looking passengers being removed from flights for the flimsiest reasons, under a cryptic claim of ‘security’,” CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said in a statement. “Security means securing passengers, not harassing and humiliating them and booting them off their flight for, of all things, actually asking for security.”

Shebley posted a video of the interaction with the plane’s crew on Facebook, where it has been viewed more than 2 million times and shared more than 38,000 times.

 “Shame on you #unitedAirlines for profiling my family and me for no reason other than how we look and kicking us off the plane for ‘safety flight issues’ on our flight to DC for the kids spring break,” she posted. “My three kids are too young to have experienced this.”

The family completed their journey on a later flight and booked their return to Chicago on a different airline.

United Airlines maintains that it doesn’t tolerate discrimination among its employees. 

Ironically, United has sustained an office in Dearborn for more than 40 years and has employed dozens of local Muslim
Americans.