America’s oldest airline has angered both supporters and opponents of Israel with its clumsy response to a complaint about its staff wearing Palestinian flag lapel pins.
Delta’s official X account echoed a passenger’s tweet on Tuesday complaining that attendants were wearing a “Hamas insignia” and said they were right to be “terrified.”
On Wednesday, she deleted her response, demoted the person who wrote the tweet and said the two staff members were being offered support for a message that was “not in line with our values.”
Then on Thursday, he announced a blanket ban on staff members wearing any flag other than the American one starting July 15.
“Regardless of whether this racist post on Delta’s X account was approved or unauthorized, Delta must apologize and take steps to educate its employees about this type of dangerous anti-Palestinian racism,” said Edward Ahmed Mitchell of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The airline faced a storm of criticism after its social media account said a passenger had a right to feel “terrified” at the sight of flight attendants wearing Palestinian flag pins.
‘Intolerance against Palestinian Americans is absolutely out of control in the workplace and in schools, and it must end.’
The dispute erupted Tuesday when the account X ‘iliketeslas’ posted photos of two flight attendants on different Delta flights wearing the pins on their uniforms and suggested they made him feel unsafe.
“Since 2001 we have taken our shoes off at every airport for a terrorist attack on American soil,” he wrote. “Now imagine getting on a Delta flight and seeing workers with Hamas insignia in the air. What do you do?”
“I hear you, I would be terrified too, personally,” the airline tweeted in response.
“Our employees reflect our culture and we do not take it lightly when our policy is not followed.”
The post sparked a furious backlash against the equating of the Palestinian flag with that of the terrorist organisation Hamas and vows to boycott the Atlanta-based airline.
“What do Palestinians have to do with 9/11?” asked one X user. “Isn’t the screenshot the perfect representation of real racism and Islamophobia? Truly pathetic. Only in America.”
“These airlines will not learn until you stop giving them business @Delta #BoycottDelta,” added Dr. Omar Suleiman, president of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations was among those demanding an apology as calls for a boycott of the Atlanta-based airline grew.
One of the attendees pictured appeared defiant despite the airline’s sudden ban on flags.
But others denounced them for allowing staff to flaunt their loyalties while Israel is at war.
“This is disgusting and completely out of place!” wrote one.
‘Disney got hurt by going progressive, not to mention AB. We should all do the same with Delta!’
In a statement to NBC, the airline said it “deleted a comment posted in error on Wednesday X because it was not in line with our values and our mission to connect the world.”
‘The team member responsible for the role has been notified and is no longer supporting Delta’s social channels. We apologize for this error.’
In May, JetBlue banned its staff from wearing political insignia after a Jewish passenger was accused of “causing a disturbance” on a flight to Las Vegas.
Paul Faust, 54, said he quietly complained about the pin to a supervisor on the plane, but when he landed, a uniformed officer demanded to see his ID, called police and then canceled his return flight.
The Parkland, Florida-based telecommunications entrepreneur told DailyMail.com he was unhappy to see the flag but did not want to cause trouble so kept quiet about it, arguing he had something equivalent: a visible Jewish tattoo.
But he said when the crew member put on an apron to serve drinks and moved the Palestine pin on top so it was still visible, he took it as a deliberate provocation.
‘I walked up to the front and said to the head assistant, ‘I just want to tell you that I’m a frequent traveler and it was annoying that she wore that and only changed that pin on the front of the apron, not the others,’ she explained.
“I went back to my seat and didn’t say anything to the flight attendant for the entire flight.”
But he said that at the end of the flight, staff pulled him aside and threatened to call the police, and cancelled his flight home without warning the next day.
In December of last year, an American Airlines flight attendant allegedly ordered a passenger to remove a pro-Palestinian sweatshirt before a flight from New York to Phoenix or face police.
Rumours circulated on Thursday that Delta had fired the staff members pictured wearing Palestinian insignia, but the airline denied this, adding: “We are in contact with the flight attendants to offer support.”
Paul Faust, pictured with fellow passenger Rachelle Almagor, accused JetBlue of anti-Semitism in May after claiming he had called police on a complaint about a Palestinian pin.
Faust, who is Jewish, told DailyMail.com he was offended to see a flight attendant, who has not been identified, flaunting a Palestinian flag pin on her uniform during the flight.
‘However, Delta will change its PIN assignment policy effective July 15.
‘From now on, only American flags will be allowed on uniforms. Previously, pins representing countries or nationalities of the world were allowed.
We are taking this measure to help ensure a safe, comfortable and welcoming environment for everyone.
‘We are proud of our diverse employee and customer base and the foundation of our brand, which is to connect the world and deliver a premium experience.’
One attendee, posting on Instagram under the username AJhooray, wrote that it had been “an overwhelming few days but I’m grateful for all the love and support.”
See you in heaven! he added.
