Kenya Airways (KQ) has denied claims that its staff at the O.R Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, barred a Jewish rabbi from boarding a flight due to his race.
- In a 46-second video posted on X (formerly Twitter) by an account called ‘Awesome Jew’, a KQ agent can be seen arguing with a group of passengers visibly frustrated that a rabbi had been barred from boarding a flight.
- In a statement, Kenya Airways said that three passengers at the boarding gate were ‘behaving disruptively’ and were possibly drunk.
- After the airline advised the passengers to board the next flight as aviation regulations prohibit passenger intoxication, the group insinuated that the airline had discriminated against them on basis of race.
“Our personnel explained to them that our safety management protocol and international civil aviation regulations require us not to board any passenger who appears to be intoxicated or disruptive,” KQ explained in a statement.
“Although the guests expressed dissatisfaction and suggested they were being profiled because of their religion, this was not the case, as the rest of their group travelled on the same flight,” the airline added.
This is the second event in a week the National Carrier has been accused of discrimination. The Nigerian government summoned Kenya Airways’ station manager in Lagos earlier this week over what it says is a “long history of maltreatment” of the country’s passengers by the airline.
The summons came at the heels of an incident at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) where KQ said a Nigerian passenger reacted rudely and inappropriately to a request to board a connecting flight to London, instead of Paris.
“The guest was traveling from Lagos to Nairobi, Paris, and Manchester. On arrival in Nairobi for her connecting flight (Nairobi-Paris), it was discovered that she did not have a SCHENGEN Visa, which is a requirement for her to enter any European Union Country,” Kenya Airways said in a statement about that incident.
