Mutiny on Flight 613

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Mutiny on Flight 613

Passengers refuse to allow holiday jet to take off until two Asian men are thrown off plane


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.

The incident fuels the row over airport security following the arrest of more than 20 people allegedly planning the suicide-bombing of transatlantic jets from the UK to America. It comes amid growing demands for passenger-profiling and selective security checks.

It also raised fears that more travellers will take the law into their own hands - effectively conducting their own 'passenger profiles'.
The passenger revolt came as Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary was accused of using the terror crisis to make money. Government sources say he boasted to an official at the Transport Department: "Every time I appear on TV, I get a spike in sales."

The Tories said the Government's failure to reassure travellers had led the Malaga passengers to 'behave irrationally' and 'hand a victory to terrorists'.
Websites used by pilots and cabin crew were yesterday reporting further incidents. In one, two British women with young children on another flight from Spain complained about flying with a bearded Muslim even though he had been security-checked twice before boarding.

The trouble in Malaga flared last Wednesday as two British citizens in their 20s waited in the departure lounge to board the pre-dawn flight and were heard talking what passengers took to be Arabic. Worries spread after a female passenger said she had heard something that alarmed her.

Passengers noticed that, despite the heat, the pair were wearing leather jackets and thick jumpers and were regularly checking their watches.

Initially, six passengers refused to board the flight. On board the aircraft, word reached one family. To the astonishment of cabin crew, they stood up and walked off, followed quickly by others.

The Monarch pilot - a highly experienced captain - accompanied by armed Civil Guard police and airport security staff, approached the two men and took their passports.

Half an hour later, police returned and escorted the two Asian passengers off the jet.

'There was no fuss or panic'

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.

Monarch arranged for them to spend the rest of the night in an airport hotel and flew them back to Manchester later on Wednesday.

College lecturer Jo Schofield, her husband Heath and daughters Emily, 15, and Isabel, 12, were caught up in the passenger mutiny.

Mrs Schofield, 38, said: "The plane was not yet full and it became apparent that people were refusing to board. In the gate waiting area, people had been talking about these two, who looked really suspicious with their heavy clothing, scruffy, rough, appearance and long hair.

"Some of the older children, who had seen the terror alert on television, were starting to mutter things like, 'Those two look like they're bombers.'
"Then a family stood up and walked off the aircraft. They were joined by others, about eight in all. We learned later that six or seven people had refused to get on the plane.

"There was no fuss or panic. People just calmly and quietly got off the plane. There were no racist taunts or any remarks directed at the men.

"It was an eerie scene, very quiet. The children were starting to ask what was going on. We tried to play it down."

Mr Schofield, 40, an area sales manager, said: "When the men were taken off they didn't argue or say a word. They just picked up their coats and obeyed the police. They seemed resigned to the fact they were under suspicion.

"The captain and crew were very apologetic when we were asked to evacuate the plane for the security search. But there was no dissent.

"While we were waiting, everyone agreed the men looked dodgy. Some passengers were very panicky and in tears. There was a lot of talking about terrorists."

Patrick Mercer, the Tory Homeland Security spokesman, said last night: "This is a victory for terrorists. These people on the flight have been terrorised into behaving irrationally.

"For those unfortunate two men to be victimised because of the colour of their skin is just nonsense."

Monarch said last night: "The captain was concerned about the security surrounding the two gentlemen on the aircraft and the decision was taken to remove them from the flight for further security checks.

"The two passengers offloaded from the flight were later cleared by airport security and rebooked to travel back to Manchester on a later flight."

A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Malaga said: "These men had aroused suspicion because of their appearance and the fact that they were speaking in a foreign language thought to be an Arabic language, and the pilot was refusing to take off until they were escorted off the plane."

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[wmuflyguy]

Shoulda just left with the 2 Arabic men on the plane and left the rest of the morons at the gate.

Speaking arabic does not make you a terrorist.

I'm for racial profiling by the proper authorities, you can't let the public get away with dictating this kind of thing.

 

[capt_zman]

Why not. I applaud them for having the balls to stand up and say something. This is one flight out of hundreds of thousands where the passengers took notice of something strange, something so strange that it prompted them to act. One flight - hardly profiling. It actually makes me feel more comfortable that people are more aware. Considering the threat is real, I'd rather have hundreds of people watching every move than 1 person confiscating my deodorant and toothpaste at security.

 

[AWACoff]

Hmmmm.....fly 100 people minus 2 suspicious people or fly 2 people.... Survey SAYS-- Fly the majority so you can actually turn a profit. Why were they wearing heavy clothing? If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...

 

[Jonny Sacko]

Hip Hip Hooray... Since the government is too weak to do the right thing, let the public (us) make the rules. Hope this catches on in the states. Maybe it'll shut the loud mouths of the (minority) liberals "Oh, you can't profile!) Booooom. Idiots.

 

[jobear]

I say profile away!

Ahmed and his fellow jihadist brought this upon themselves so if they want to complain tell them to asks the Imans to tell everyone to stop threatining to and plotting to to kill Americans and Brits(screw the french and germans). It seems the farther we get from an attack on our country or on US emabassy's,and Marine barracks people here forget who did the attacking. If they are offended by the extra screening tough get over it or don't travel. To the paranoid paxs I say good job and way to stand up for your individual safeties.

Jobear
Master of Paranoia

 

[ultrarunner]

Profile till it hurts

 

[SkiFishFly]

Citizen action like this may be the only way we win this thing.

If this happened in the states the freakin traitors in the ACLU would have already sued the airline, airport etc.

 

[JDriver]

Anyone ever thought these folks were tesing the system. I agree with those folks who demanded action. If two middle aged men, who look like typical terrorists, board an aircraft during the middle of the summer wearing heavy coats, speaking arabic, are asked to get off the plane, so be it! The terrorist acts of the past were well researched, planned and executed.

WMUFLYGUY, you and/or the government do not have the intestinal fortitude to call a spade a spade. I sure am glad there are some folks out there who do! You call people with legitimate concerns "morons". I call them people who care more about their lives than political correctness.

Flying as a passenger is not a right, it is a priveledge! Therefore, if you pose a security risk (or it is pervieved that you are a security risk), TOUGH!

 

[Laughing_Jakal]

absolutely!

During WWII, one of the most highly decorated units in Europe was the 442nd. Even though I don't like his current political stance, US Sen Daniel Inouye, (D-Hawaii) was one of the heros in that unit and lost an arm. Anyway, these were all Nissei or second generation Japanese Americans who fought like hell for their country...mostly all while there family were interned in camps in the U.S.

They didn't bitch about racial profiling, they wanted to prove to their country what a red-blooded American (in this case second generation immigrant) would do for their country, and also demonstrate their loyalty.

In another act of UN-PC decision making that makes complete common sense....that unit was sent to fight in Europe, not the Pacific, where some confusion might exist in combat with a unit of ethnically Japanese soldiers fighting in US uniforms....you could figure the rest.

It is an interesting story and those guys were true patriots. Bet this whole "You hurt my feelings cause you looked at me funny" sounds pretty weak to guys that went to combat while they and their familys had to live in internment camps because of their nationality.

One of these days, I'd like to see some Muslim immigrants driving around with at least a "We support our troops" bumber sticker and their mosque have a float in the local fourth of July parade supporting their new country...but it will never happen.