LONDON- Two Black passengers have accused British Airways (BA) of racial profiling after a cabin crew member asked them to produce their boarding passes on a flight from New York (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR).
The brothers, traveling onward to Lisbon (LIS) and finally home to Cabo Verde, described the encounter in an Instagram post that tagged the airline directly. A travel blogger who reviewed the footage has publicly questioned whether race played any part in the exchange.
Business Class Seat Check Sparks Discrimination Complaint
The incident took place shortly after boarding, once passengers had settled into their seats. According to the passenger who posted the video, a flight attendant approached the two brothers and asked to see their boarding passes to confirm they were assigned to those seats.
The passenger stated that out of everyone seated in business and first class, only the two of them were asked to do this.
He described the request as extremely inappropriate and humiliating, and said he called for the supervisor immediately. In his account, the explanation he received was the same each time he raised the issue.
He said the incident happened about a week before he posted the video, and that he chose to share it so more people would be aware of the situation.
He added that many people of color have encountered similar moments where they are shown that they do not belong in a certain place.
Passenger Points to US Discrimination Law
In his post, the passenger described himself as a frequent traveler who always flies business or first class and has experienced thousands of airlines worldwide. He said nothing like this had ever happened to him before.
He also raised the possibility of legal action, stating his belief that British Airways will do something about the incident because a lawsuit could be filed.
He noted that discrimination remains against the law in the United States and that the flight departed from a US airport.
He said he was unsure of the position in Europe, but added that in his view some countries there are still living under a colonial mentality, based on what he has experienced. He closed the post with hashtags including travel, racism, Europe, flying, and Cabo Verde.
Near Identical Encounter on Lufthansa
Aviation blog Live and Let’s Fly reported that its author experienced the same thing on a recent Lufthansa (LH) flight, when a flight attendant approached him after boarding and questioned his presence in the cabin.
The blogger asked whether it happened because he is white, and answered that it clearly did not. For reasons no one could immediately explain, he did not appear on the flight attendant’s iPad.
He held a valid boarding pass, had boarded normally, and was sitting in his assigned seat, but the onboard passenger information did not match the tablet.
The flight attendant checked his boarding pass, confirmed he belonged there, and moved on. He described the moment as mildly awkward, but said it was obvious what had happened, calling it a technical discrepancy.
Why Blogger Is Not Convinced
The blogger wrote that he understands why the interaction aboard the British Airways flight felt uncomfortable.
However, he stated that the video offers very little evidence that race had anything to do with the crew member’s request.
He acknowledged that there may be more to the story than what appears in the brief video. Based only on what is shown in the footage, he said he is not persuaded that the exchange was racial profiling.
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