E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Detroit Hajjis complain about Northwest Airlines treatment in Frankfurt
DEARBORN -- About 40 Muslim Metro Detroiters say they were stranded at an airport in Frankfurt, Germany, and given a series of explanations about why they could not board their Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit Metropolitan Airport. A spokesman for Northwest said Tuesday that the travelers, who were returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, reported to the gate about 20 minutes before their connecting flight was to take off. They were barred from making the trip by airline and international flight rules, he said.

But the Muslim travelers, including two imams, and their advocates -- the Council on American-Islamic Relations -- adamantly rejected the airline's statement at a press conference Tuesday, saying flight rules were at least the third reason given for why the pilgrims could not board the Jan. 7 flight. "We arrived at the gate at least an hour and 30 minutes before the departure," said Imam Sayed Hassan al-Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. "Others who came after us were allowed to board the airplane."

Qazwini and other travelers said airline staff in Frankfurt told them to stand to the side and offered no explanation for why they were not processed for boarding. Some of them had boarding passes. Then, they say, they were told by airline and airport officials that the flight was overbooked. Subsequently, they said, they were told that because their flight from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Germany was a charter flight, their information for the flight to Metro Airport was not properly recorded in computers. Some of the travelers were left in the Frankfurt Airport for more than a day.
It's a conspiracy!
But a spokesman for the airline said Tuesday the problem was simply a matter of the travelers appearing too late at the gate in Frankfurt. "They showed up at the last minute," said Dean Breest, a Northwest spokesman. "Those who showed up in time were allowed on the plane. Some of them had boarding passes, and they were allowed on the plane. The others were late. We did work with all of them to make sure that they were on other flights that day."

The airline released a statement saying, in part, "Northwest Airlines policy states that passengers must check in for international flights at least 60 minutes prior to departure and be on board the aircraft at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time."

But the travelers said Tuesday they can't believe the airline would offer the explanation now. Several said that after landing in Frankfurt at 7:30 a.m. for their 10:20 a.m. flight to Detroit Metro, they proceeded immediately to the departure gate to check-in. "We were told to stand to the side an hour and 55 minutes before the plane took off, after a 45-minute security check," said Jennifer Zreik, 29, of Dearborn. "We were in line before everyone else was."

Qazwini said he hopes the airline will apologize and compensate the travelers affected by the delay. Without a resolution to the issue, Qazwini said he will consider contacting other Muslim groups to urge a boycott of Northwest. The travelers are considering legal action.
Of course they are!

Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2007-01-17
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=178001