Alaska Airlines is facing a discrimination lawsuit from two Muslim Americans who were supposed to fly with the airline more than two years ago.
It was Feb. 17, 2020, when the two Sudan-born U.S. citizens were boarding Alaska Airlines flight 304 in first class for a trip to San Francisco.
The two were on the plane speaking in Arabic, while one was using a phone to text a friend, not on the plane. Court documents say the text messages were using both Arabic and English words, along with emoji.
A third person, who was sitting next to the two Muslim men, saw the texts and allegedly became afraid.
This person got up, grabbed his bag and walked toward the plane exit, where he told a flight attendant he would not stay on the plane and left.
The Alaska Airlines captain was told about the complaint so delayed the flight and told passengers it was a technical issue while speaking with a manager. The court records say the manager soon asked the two men to step off the plane with their stuff to discuss the situation.
Outside, at the gate lobby, the two were speaking with the manager who told them they speak Arabic and were there to investigate the “improper texts,” according to the lawsuit.
Court documents then detail the texts, which the Alaska Airlines manager later described as “completely innocuous.”
However, the manager then cited airline procedure and said they would be reticketed and rebooked on a different flight. Both FBI, TSA and Port of Seattle officials all soon showed up.
“After having confirmed to [Port of Seattle] Officer Neisinger that there was no threat, the same above-mentioned unnamed Alaska Airlines manager also told Officer Neisinger that Alaska Airlines personnel still intended to deplane the other passengers to “show them that Alaska Airlines was concerned about their security and took this incident seriously,” the court documents say.
Alaska Airlines then had the two go back through airport screening and put them on separate flights later in the day. One of the two was downgraded to coach, according to the lawsuit.
KOMO News has reached out to the airline and has not yet heard back.