Air Canada apologizes to British MP held up ‘because his name is Mohammad’

An apology from Air Canada was necessary after a British lawmaker accused the airline of holding up his colleague “because his name is Mohammad,” Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez says.

“When we heard that, we called Air Canada and Air Canada apologized,” he told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday.

“Apologizing is the right thing to do.”

In a point of order in the British House of Commons on Monday, Clive Betts said that lawmakers he was travelling with last week were allowed through while fellow Labour MP Mohammad Yasin was pulled aside for questioning. The MPs were on a select committee trip to Canada.

Betts said Yasin was told he was first pulled aside at London’s Heathrow airport “because his name is Mohammad.”

“He was asked whether he was carrying a knife or other offensive weapon; he was also asked where he was born. The questioning was undertaken by officials from Air Canada and, we believe, the Canadian government, despite … already been given a visa to enter Canada,” he is quoted as saying in Hansard, the official record of the British House of Commons proceedings.

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Betts added Yasin was challenged again in Toronto and Montreal. He said Yasin has received apologies from Air Canada and the parliamentary secretary to the federal immigration minister.

Betts said he felt it was important to raise the incident in the House given “the racist and Islamophobic nature of these challenges.”

“We raised the issue with our high commissioner in Ottawa, who was very supportive. She was amazed at what had happened, given the multicultural nature of Canada as an open and welcoming country,” he said.

“She has raised the matter with the Canadian Government and appreciates that I am raising it in Parliament, to try to ensure that no one is treated in this way in future.”

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An Air Canada spokesperson told Global News Wednesday that it has indeed reached out to Yasin to apologize.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Yasin was designated for additional screening prior to his flight after a security check, but he was still able to travel as planned as he was quickly cleared,” the spokesperson said.

“We are also following up internally on the handling of this particular matter to ensure procedures were properly followed. We have also been in touch with relevant authorities. We regret any inconvenience or upset this situation may have created for Mr. Yasin and have reached out to apologize.”