United’s earlier statement, now erased from the web, said that the flight attendant “attempted several times to accommodate Ms. Ahmad’s beverage request.” This flight attendant has been done a manifest injustice. She has been sacrificed on the altar of Muslim victimhood, sacrificed to the false narrative that Muslims are treated unjustly in this country — a false narrative constructed so as to deflect scrutiny from jihad terror plotting and to intimidate people into thinking that resisting jihad terror will harm innocent people. And the result of United’s hasty capitulation will be even more hesitation on the part of non-Muslims to take issue with any behavior by any Muslim on an airplane, no matter what he or she is doing. And we will all be that much more unsafe. But who cares? The main thing is that “behavior that is discriminatory – or that appears [to whom?] to be discriminatory,” is avoided.
An update on this story. “Shuttle America Flight 3504,” United Airlines, June 3, 2015:
While United did not operate the flight, Ms. Ahmad was our customer and we apologize to her for what occurred on the flight.
After investigating this matter, United has ensured that the flight attendant, a Shuttle America employee, will no longer serve United customers.
United does not tolerate behavior that is discriminatory – or that appears to be discriminatory – against our customers or employees.
All of United’s customer-facing employees undergo annual and recurrent customer service training, which includes lessons in cultural awareness. Customer-facing employees for Shuttle America also undergo cultural sensitivity training, and United will continue to work with all of our partners to deliver service that reflects United’s commitment to cultural awareness.