Jan 06 2009

“We Will Not Be Silent” on JetBlue Airlines

Showing that they haven’t lost their ability to waste their stockholders’ and the taxpayers money by violating travelers’ rights, JetBlue Airlines and two TSA officials have paid $240,000 to a JetBlue passenger who they forced to cover up the message on his t-shirt as a condition of allowing him to fly home from New York to California.

Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi-American who works for the Nobel Peace prize-winning American Friends Service Committee, was prevented by both JetBlue and the TSA from boarding the plane until he covered up his shirt, which said “We will not be silent” in both English and Arabic.

JetBlue previously had to apologize to its customers for turning over its entire historical PNR database of records about everyone who had ever taken a JetBlue flight to a military contractor working on a profiling scheme linked to the Total Information Awareness program, prompting lawsuits by several groups of passengers.

Perhaps now that the TSA has settled with Mr. Jarrar, we can once again safely wear the “Suspected Terrorist” buttons that got John Gilmore and his traveling companion kicked off a British Airways flight in San Francisco.

7 thoughts on ““We Will Not Be Silent” on JetBlue Airlines

  1. Howdy.
    with this fellow winning his lawsuit.
    that setr a president.
    besides.
    were paying passengers.
    lets just quit flying and let them check each other lol.
    and under this so called patroit act, homeland act we have lost to many of our GOD GIVEN RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES already.
    its WAY pass thime to start TAKING them BACK,
    Jim.

  2. Ethan Says: “Jet blue is a private company. Isn’t it their right to deny anyone entry onto their plane?”

    Under the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, airlines are licensed in the U.S. as “common carriers”. A common carrier may not pick and choose its customers: it is required by law to publish a tariff applicable to all customers, and transport any passenger paying the fare and complying with the terms in that tariff.

  3. Wow, I’m not sure what to make of a website whos stated purpose is to defend liberties, but at the same time does not see a problem with the liberty of the airline denied.

  4. They are free to deny everyone to take their flights – when they fly from their own airports and outside of the public airspace …

  5. I cannot believe that the world has come to this!, in the end what the terrorists wanted has come to fruition, we now have our own companies and government harassing the hell out of the common person, how great is that! (insert sarcasm)

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