America’s oldest airline has angered both Israel’s supporters and opponents with its clumsy response to a complaint about staff wearing Palestinian flag lapel badges.
Delta’s official X account expressed solidarity with a passenger’s tweet on Tuesday, who complained about flight attendants wearing “Hamas badges,” saying they were right to be “terrified.”
On Wednesday, the comment was deleted, the person who wrote the tweet was demoted and the two employees were said to have been offered support for a post that was “not aligned with our values.”
A blanket ban on staff members carrying flags other than the American flag was announced on Thursday.
“Whether this racist post on Delta’s X account was authorized 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 Counsel on American-Islamic Relations.
The airline has faced a storm of criticism after its social media account stated that a passenger had the right to be “terrified” when seeing flight attendants wearing Palestinian flag badges
“Intolerance toward Palestinian Americans is completely outrageous in the workplace and in schools. It must end.”
The controversy erupted Tuesday when the X account “iliketeslas” posted photos of two flight attendants on separate Delta flights wearing the pins on their uniforms. The account also claimed that the flight attendants felt unsafe as a result.
“Since 2001, we have taken our shoes off at every airport because of a terrorist attack on American soil,” he wrote. “Now imagine getting on a Delta flight and seeing workers with Hamas badges in the air. What do you do?”
“I understand you asking me, I would personally be terrified too,” the airline tweeted in response.
“Our employees are a reflection of our culture and we do not take it lightly when our policies are not followed.”
The news sparked a furious backlash from protesters against the equating of the Palestinian flag with that of the terrorist organization Hamas, who vowed to boycott the Atlanta-based airline.
“What do Palestinians have to do with 9/11?” asked one X user. “Isn’t the whole screenshot the perfect summary of real racism and Islamophobia? Really sad. Only in America.”
“These airlines will only learn when you stop doing business with them @Delta #BoycottDelta,” added Dr Omar Suleiman, the president of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research.
The Counsel on American-Islamic Relations was among those demanding an apology as calls for a boycott of the Atlanta-based airline grew.
One of the flight attendants pictured appeared defiant, despite the airline’s sudden ban on flags
However, others criticized them for showing loyalty to their staff while Israel was at war.
“It’s disgusting and completely out of place!” one person wrote.
‘Disney is suffering from being woke, let alone AB. We should do the same with Delta!’
In a statement to NBC, the airline said it “removed a comment posted in error on X Wednesday because it did not align with our values and our mission of connecting the world.”
“The team member responsible for the post has been counseled and no longer supports Delta’s social channels. We apologize for this error.”
JetBlue banned its employees from wearing political badges in May after a Jewish passenger was accused of “causing a disturbance” on a flight to Las Vegas.
Paul Faust, 54, said he privately 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, telecom entrepreneur told DailyMail.com that he wasn’t happy about the flag but didn’t want to cause any trouble so he didn’t say anything about it, reasoning that he had something similar: a visible Jewish tattoo.
But he said that when the crew member put on an apron to serve drinks and placed the Palestine pin on it so that it was still visible, he considered it a deliberate provocation.
“I walked up and said to the chief stewardess, ‘I just want to tell you that I fly a lot and I was upset that she was wearing that and that she only put that pin on the front of the apron, not the other one,’” he explained.
“I went back to my seat. I didn’t say anything to this flight attendant the entire flight.”
However, he said he was taken aside at the end of the flight by staff who threatened to call the police and cancelled his flight home without informing him the next day.
Last December, an American Airlines flight attendant reportedly ordered a passenger to remove a pro-Palestinian sweatshirt before a flight from New York to Phoenix or face police.
Rumors circulated on Thursday that Delta had fired the staff members seen wearing Palestinian badges in the photo, but the airline denied this, adding: “We have contacted cabin crew to offer support.”
Paul Faust, pictured with fellow passenger Rachelle Almagor, accused JetBlue of anti-Semitism in May after he claimed police called him over a complaint about a Palestinian pin
Faust, who is Jewish, told DailyMail.com he was offended when he saw a female flight attendant – who has not been named – wearing a Palestinian flag pin on her uniform during the flight
However, Delta is changing its PIN allowance policy with effect from 15 July.
‘From then on, only American flags may be worn on uniforms. Previously, pins with countries/nationalities of the world were allowed.
“We are taking this step to create a safe, comfortable and welcoming environment for everyone.
“We are proud of our diverse workforce and customers, and the foundation of our brand—connecting the world and delivering a first-class experience.”
One of those in attendance wrote on Instagram under the name AJhooray that it had been “an overwhelming few days but I’m grateful for all the love and support.”
“See you in the air!” he added.