I
was denied boarding Easyjet flight from Amsterdam to London Gatwick, Flight
Number EZY8876, departing Tue 02 Feb 14:20. I was taken off the flight last
minute at the boarding gate. The reason given was that I did not meet the
security requirements of the Airline. Easyjet carries out security checks at
the boarding gate to ensure all passengers are documented properly, in addition
to these checks there are other measures in place too such as border control
and airport security checks. Despite all these checks the airline has been
carrying out special checks on me. Over the last year or so I have flown with
easyjet four times and I have been subjected to special check on all instances.
The first and second checks were in January 2015 when flying from London
Gatwick to Amsterdam and on return. Back in January 2015 I reported mistreatment,
abuse and aggressive questioning; Easyjet did not provide adequate response and
the complaint was escalated to CAA. it took almost a year for CAA to
investigate claims of harassment and abuse and a final response was provided by
Easyjet Regulatory Support Team on 18th January 2016 where they conclude that
on both instances I was subject of random security check.
I
flew from London Gatwick to Amsterdam on the 28th Jan 2016 on easyjet flight
EZY8881 and at the boarding gate I was again questioned, threatened and
humiliated for a total of 11 minutes and 10 seconds in addition to checks
carried out on all passengers. I was questioned by three staff members, two at
the counter and a supervisor over the telephone on a range of issues that did
not relate to the flight or were redundant questions that the airline was
provided with documentation and details through the API (advance passenger
information), operated by the airline. Hence the questioning did not serve any
particular practical purpose but created a climate of intimidation, hostility
and harassment where I felt humiliated and targeted. I will later provide an
extraction of the transcript in order to give an accurate idea of the
questioning.
On
the 02 Feb 2016 when returning from Amsterdam to London Gatwick I was checked
and boarded like all other passenger but the staff had another thought and was
again selected for questioning and passed on to another staff member for
detailed scrutiny. This does not fit the definition of random checks and I enquired
as to why I am the subject of another security check. I was told that the
reason was because of my national origin and it is a normal practice by the
airline to target certain nationals for extra checks. I did not submit for the extra security
check as I was assured by the airline that they do not discriminate on the
basis of origin or belief through various correspondences. I presumed that it
was a mistake and upon contacting supervisors the staff will let me board the
plane but I turned out to be wrong and had to leave the airport and enter the Nederland
through airport immigration in order to find another flight. While at the
counter I called Dutch Emergency police number and asked for assistance, as I
was a target or racism immediately miss a flight. The police refused to help as
their assessment was that security checks were a normal feature of air travel
and it did not constitute racial discrimination.
I
believe I missed my flight because Easyjet rules are not clear, confusing and
contradictory. I have been given different information as to why I am subject
of special checks, it is unclear what the aim of such checks are, it is unclear
what document and information I should supply at the spot and what information
should be supplied before the flight. Most importantly its unclear why I am the
only passenger that is on another category of document assessment. The rules
only state that all passengers should be properly documented which I have
always been and is demonstrated on the first instance.
In
all honesty I am not interested in what motives they might have but only want
this to stop. I should add that this pattern of harassment and threats is similar
to attitudes displayed by other state and commercial organisation where I have
dealings. I have been denied a money account, removed from premises or even not
allowed to withdraw money from my bank account due to my national origin.
There
is little that can be done, the UK does not have an ombudsman or enforcement
agency to monitor and enforce the Equality Act 2010. The only redress of any
infringement is to refer the issue to the court, which is a very time consuming
and costly process. I am not alleging racial discrimination by the British
state or the commercial companies but highlighting the fact that rights and
privileges that citizen enjoy are established through customs, habits and
practice. Citizen do not go by everyday to fight for their rights and such
struggles will be impractical even in the UK where the rule of law is
established and upheld. The rules become extremely complicated when dealing
with people who are perceived as undesirable. Such person is only defined by
his or her nationality through policies and practices of the state, media and
society. As an Afghan there is a different set of rules for me that are
extremely draconian and does not reflect any of the values Britain aspire to
uphold. These rules govern public and commercial interactions, my relation to
the state and even condition of living in the UK. I believe the provision of
human rights is deliberately misleading in order to establish an egalitarian
vision for the society but in reality it should be labelled “citizen rights” or
“western rights” or more accurately “rights of citizens of desirable
countries”.
28th January 2016 Event
transcript
00:00:00
easyjet staff 1: do you have an
extension?
Sanjar: What extention is that?
easyjet staff 1: you need an
extension on your passport.
Sanjar: this is my passport i need no
other extensions.
easyjet staff 1: yes you do
need one.
........
easyjet staff 1: that is nothing.
this means nothing. you can not travel on that.
.....
easyjet staff 1: you do need an
extension you can not travel on that.
easyjet staff 1: that is not
valid. it is invalid. you can not travel on that.
......
00:03:00
sanjar: why is my passport taking so
long?
easyjet staff 1: because it does
so.
sanjar: it has been two dozen passengers
who already boarded...
easyjet staff 1: its all fine. I am
just checking your passport.
sanjar: but why are you only checking my
passport?
easyjet staff 1: for the
right documents, sir
sanjar: why is everyone else not checked
for the right documents?
easyjet staff 1: because they
don't need the documents sir.
sanjar: they don't need documents to get
on the flight?
easyjet staff 1: not documents that
you need.
sanjar: what documents do i need?
easyjet staff 1: that is why I am
checking.
At this point
the easyjet staff 1 leaves the table without explaining what she is
doing and where she is taking my passport and documents.
00:04:06
easyjet staff 2: Sir, would you
like to just come round?
.....
an easyjet staff takes me to
another table.
easyjet staff 1 is on the phone
asking for instructions and guidance to deal with me. she asks for my UK
residence card for inspection.
00:05:05
easyjet staff 1: how long are you
going for?
sanjar: why do you need to know that?
easyjet staff 1: because my
colleague asks?
sanjar: why do you need to know that?
easyjet staff 1: how long are you
going for?
sanjar: you are not asking that question
from anyone else.
......
00:05:40
easyjet staff 1: how long are you
staying for?
....
easyjet staff 1: my colleague needs
to know.
sanjar: i am not telling you until you
tell me why you need to know that.
easyjet staff 1: then you can not
travel sir.
00:06:30
easyjet staff 1: do you have any
other family member that live there?
sanjar: I am boarding the flight why do
you need to know about my family?
easyjet staff 1: my colleague needs
to know.
00:07:00
easyjet staff 2: now sir its very
important for the border control to know these questions.
sanjar: you are not border
control.
........ .......
easyjet staff 2: well. we can not
let you on the flight.
...............
easyjet staff 2: we need to know
all the information to be able to let you on the flight.
sanjar: why
easyjet staff 2: because we need to
know
sanjar: but why, is that the
regulations?
easyjet staff 2: yes.
................................
I am now asked to come back to the
counter without offering an explaination of what is happening next.
......
00:10:10
sanjar: can you please tell me what are
we doing here?
easyjet staff 1: I am writing down
your document details, sir.
sanjar: what details do you need?
easyjet staff 1: it doesn't matter.
sanjar: it does matter, what details do
you need.
easyjet staff 1: its all in
here.
please note throughout this despicable
episode I am not explained the procedure and chauffeured around without being
explained what is happening and why. most importantly please note the tone of intimidation
and constant threats, I have highlighted in bold half a dozen instances where I
am told the equivalent of not being allowed to fly.
