British holidaymakers staged an unprecedented mutiny - refusing to allow their flight to take off until two men they feared were terrorists were forcibly removed.
The extraordinary scenes happened after some of the 150 passengers on a Malaga-Manchester flight overheard two men of Asian appearance apparently talking Arabic.
Passengers told cabin crew they feared for their safety and demanded police action. Some stormed off the Monarch Airlines Airbus A320 minutes before it was due to leave the Costa del Sol at 3am. Others waiting for Flight ZB 613 in the departure lounge refused to board it.
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Soon afterwards, the aircraft was cleared while police did a thorough security sweep. Nothing was found and the plane took off - three hours late and without the two men on board.
This event and the behavior of these passengers is another example of the irrational fear mongering and racism spouted by politicians and pundits under the guise of national security.
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These men were not shouting or waving around guns. They had already been inspected and searched when going through the security checkpoint. The feared "danger" was made up in the minds of the passengers and therefore irrational. This type of incident will be yet another excuse for bigots to act on their hatred of anyone different than they are. "Officer, I didn't beat him up because he looked Arab; it was because he looked like a
terrisssss."
It is hard to accept that two innocent men were made to take another flight due to the irrational fear and racism of other passengers. If you are too afraid to board a flight, then don't get on. That is your choice. But, we, as a "civilized" society, should not punish the innocent. The pilot and security officers should have made it clear that these men had done nothing wrong and had every right to be on this flight and if you didn't agree, get the hell off the plane and wait for the next flight yourself!
Oh, and check out the photo of the Schofield family. They were so proud of their actions that they actually posed for a photo.