Airline Apologises To Fashion Designer Barred From Flight For Wearing A Turban

Earlier this week, fashion designer Waris Ahluwalia was barred from boarding an Aero Mexico flight because he was wearing a turban.

At the time, Ahluwalia took to social media to vent his frustration at the company, posting a selfie to Instagram in which he held up his boarding pass with “SSSS” — which stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection — circled on the ticket.

“This morning in Mexico City I was told I could not board my @aeromexico flight to NYC because of my turban. #FearisanOpportunitytoEducate, #humanrights, #dignity, and #lovenotfear,” he wrote in the caption.

Ahluwalia initially complied with the supplemental security measures before boarding his flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport, including having an agent swab his hands and the bottoms of his feet.

But when asked by an airline worker to remove his black turban, an accessory in his signature style he is never seen without, he refused. “That is not something that I would do in public,” the Grand Budapest Hotel actor told the New York Daily News. “That’s akin to asking someone to take off their clothes.”

After abstaining from removing his turban without being brought to a private screening area, he supposedly was told, “You will not be flying Aero Mexico. You will need to book another flight.”

On his Instagram post, commenters aired their frustration with Ahluwalia’s mistreatment. “Absolutely disgusted by this,” said one fan. “How much longer are Sikh men going to be targeted by bigots?”

This morning, Aero Mexico also acknowledged its mistake by releasing a statement on Twitter this morning:

“Aeroméxico is a global airline that has operations in countries around the world, which recognises and is proud of the diversity of its passengers.

“Every day we work to ensure strict compliance with the highest safety standards , while we respect and value the culture and beliefs of our customers. We apologise to Mr. Waris Ahluwalia for the bad experience he had with one of our security elements in addressing your flight to New York in the Mexico City International Airport . This case motivates us to ensure that security personnel strengthen its care protocols , always respecting the cultural and religious values of customers.”

There’s been no response yet from Ahluwalia, but we bet he’ll refrain from flying Aero Mexico again.