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Europe
Man forced off plane by fellow passengers
2006-09-30
MADRID, Spain — A Spanish university professor with a long beard and dark complexion said Thursday he was briefly forced off an airliner during a layover on the Spanish island of Mallorca by passengers who feared he was an Islamic terrorist. Pablo Gutierrez Vega said he was humiliated when three German passengers on an Air Berlin flight approached him during a layover in Palma de Mallorca on Aug. 30 en route from Seville, Spain, to Dortmund, Germany, and asked to search his carry-on luggage.

The men told him that other passengers were frightened by his appearance, said Gutierrez Vega, 35, a law professor at the University of Seville. "They treated me like an Islamic terrorist because of my appearance," Gutierrez Vega said, according to an account posted Thursday on the Web site of the newspaper El Pais.
Posted by:Fred

#19  SH: For a really good time, try having a name that comes up on the terror watch list (I have a Dutch name). Every time I forget to use my middle initial when I make a reservation, I get "special treatment" by the airlines. Don't get me wrong - I approve - but it get's me some funny looks.
Posted by: Secret Master   2006-09-30 23:59  

#18  reminds me of a friend who gets all bent out of shape when they ask for her ID at the major chains, like they should just look at her and KNOW she is honest.
Posted by: anon   2006-09-30 19:06  

#17  Also, be careful about rolling your eyes around, it gets people nervous.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2006-09-30 16:04  

#16  Might say, "if you guys buy me a cocktail, ok", but that's about it.

Better ask for $10 because if you asked for the drink they'd drop their complaint and you wouldn't get your cocktail! :-)

But yes, this is what happens when you sport Islamic looks. It's not so bad. Expect it. Just show them your bag and strike up a conversation. This wouldn't faze me, either, but some people seem to forget they are trading security for "pride". Stoopid.

Also goes to show you how much people trust security in the airports.
Posted by: gorb   2006-09-30 13:57  

#15  Spot on, ES4792! I'd do the same. If it would assuage anyone's fears, why not make the flying experience less stressful than it already is?
Posted by: Hupailet Unaiger3912   2006-09-30 13:29  

#14  If other airline passengers ask to see my bag cause I make them nervous, I'd say "sure". Would'nt even phase me. Might say, "if you guys buy me a cocktail, ok", but that's about it.
Posted by: Elmease Slavique4792   2006-09-30 10:03  

#13  ...four women wearing garish outfits and weird hair styles complaining that people are staring at them because of their skin color.

It is my opinion that people go in for really garish looks (e.g. multiple piercings, unnaturally-colored hair) primarily so that they can attract negative attention, then get all self-righteous about it.

Those people will be growing beards (well, mostly the men) and wearing Islamic dress soon.
Posted by: Angie Schultz   2006-09-30 09:56  

#12  SH - lol! You must be a big guy. But on the bright side, at least you are guaranteed to sit next to an empty seat if there is going to be one.
Posted by: anon   2006-09-30 09:40  

#11  A beard alone does not suspicion make. However, if you have a dark complexion, wear a beard, dress in a non-western or unusual manner for your circumstances, and otherwise attract the eye, you are asking for trouble.

I am reminded of the unintentionally ironic music video by 'en vogue', entitled "free your mind", with four women wearing garish outfits and weird hair styles complaining that people are staring at them because of their skin color.

"Uh, no. I'm staring at you because you look like you just walked off the set of 'Babylon 5'."
Posted by: Anonymoose   2006-09-30 08:56  

#10  He should shave his beard and have skin bleaching treatments like Michael Jackson! Then he could look like a caucasion, no more problems.
Posted by: NoBeards   2006-09-30 08:54  

#9  Gutierrez Vega said he was humiliated

Hummm, almost there.
Posted by: 6   2006-09-30 06:50  

#8  Beardy dudes can consider sacrificing their facial hairs as a private contribution to the WoT. After all there's suspiciously some element of personal vanity often attached to 'em follicles for infidels anyway, no? ;)
Posted by: Duh!   2006-09-30 05:49  

#7  Just not their governments.
Posted by: Zenster   2006-09-30 04:11  

#6  Seems like Europeans vacationing in the south, near the Islamic marches are a disposed to see Islam in violent terms.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2006-09-30 03:29  

#5  What's that you say Pablo, "Jihad, Dhirka, Dhirka"?
Posted by: ed   2006-09-30 01:26  

#4  Another way to discover you look like a scary person is to fly Southwest. My row seems to fill up last. I think most people would pass up an open seat next to me for one placed between Charlie Manson and a cholically baby with a dirty diaper.
Posted by: Super Hose   2006-09-30 01:20  

#3  I'm sympathetic to this guy if there's no more to this harassment than the fears of fellow passengers. However, my sympathy is tempered by that big hole in the ground on the west side of lower Manhattan.
Posted by: mcsegeek1   2006-09-30 01:09  

#2  notice it happened a month ago and he's now coming fwd? I heard this on KFI yesterday as well....sounds like a hoax. Why wouldn't he have come fwd immediately? Delayed seething?
Posted by: Frank G   2006-09-30 01:04  

#1  Either there is something not being mentioned in this story that relates to Vega's conduct and behavior, or else the passengers were out of line. They should have instructed airport security to investigate or directed this man to the attention of the flight crew.

While I'm certain that Vega will probably carry away either a renewed or newfound hatred for Germans, one can only hope that he learns to also begin hating Islamic terrorists for inspiring the sort of trouble that reached into his life that day.
Posted by: Zenster   2006-09-30 00:35  

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