Ryanair's 'Racist' Comments

Callistemon I thought we were discussing bombs on aircraft not hi-jackers. Completely different scenario. The US uses air marshals on flights but I couldn't see Ryan air coughing up for that!

Surely it's common sense to profile single Muslim men. Also drunk or scruffy men or anyone else they think might pose a risk.

Were you ladies wearing items of jewellery which have a lot of metal in them? The only time I was set the alarms off was at Bristol airport and had the pat down etc I was wearing a necklace with a large metal thingy on the front. Have never done that since as it was agreed that it was the likely culprit.

Families with children and disabled are always in my experience allowed to board planes first but they will still have had to wait their turn getting through security and all will be checked through the body scanner.

Apart from the obvious racist overtones I question his logic on at least two grounds:

1. When he mentions Muslim men he is obviously referring to those with brown skin. In a recent report of someone convicted of wanting to carry out a terrorist attack the perpetrator was a white female convert born in the UK

2. Fast tracking families with small children ignores the fact that many terrorists have strapped bombs to children and sent them to their deaths

Security at airports may be annoying (I have myself been taken to one side - I forgot to take my kindle out of my carry on!) but they are there to keep us safe and I would trust the airport security teams before Mr. O'Leary

elderly


Ok, so I'm getting on a bit!

I'm starting to believe that elderly white females are pulled over in security at airports because they make the least fuss, but the searchers still make their quota of people searched.
I know I'm being cynical.

11th September 2001 trisher ?

oldglimmer1 Too many to list and would be stating the bleedin' obvious to do so.
Really! How many Muslim attacks on airplanes do you imagine there have been? Attacks since 1995

21–22 January 1995 (planned)Bojinka plot (failed)A failed al-Qaeda plot to destroy several airliners over the Pacific Ocean using liquid explosives. The conspirators were discovered before they could carry out the plot.0
22 December 20012001 failed shoe bomb attemptAl-Qaeda operative Richard Reid was subdued by passengers of American Airlines Flight 63, flying from Paris to Miami, after unsuccessfully attempting to detonate plastic explosives concealed in his shoes.0
7 May 2002China Northern Flight 6136A McDonnell Douglas MD-80 nearing its destination of Dalian, China, reported fire in the cabin and requested an emergency landing before crashing. The investigation determined that passenger Zhang Pilin used gasoline to set fire to the cabin after purchasing several life insurance policies. Zhang and most passengers died from carbon monoxide inhalation; none survived the crash.112
24 August 2004Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1353 and Siberia Airlines Flight 1047Two domestic Russian passenger flights departing Moscow, a Tu-134 and a Tu-154 airliner, crashed within minutes of each other, with no survivors. The Siberia Airlines flight broadcast a hijack warning shortly before disappearing from radar. An investigation found traces of RDX high explosive at both crashes, and determined Chechen suicide bombers to be responsible. Chechen separatist Shamil Salmanovich Basayev claimed responsibility.44 and 46
9 August 20062006 transatlantic aircraft plotA failed al-Qaeda terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives on airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada.0
25 December 2009Northwest Airlines Flight 253An Airbus A330 flying from Amsterdam to Detroit was the target of a failed al-Qaeda bombing attempt. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab unsuccessfully attempted to detonate plastic explosives concealed in his underwear.0
29 October 2010Cargo planes bomb plotA failed al-Qaeda plastic-explosive bombing attempt on a UPS and a FedEx cargo plane bound to the United States. The bombs, concealed in packages originating in Yemen, were discovered at stop-overs a result of shared intelligence. It is believed the bombs were intended to be detonated over a US city.[12]0
31 October 2015Metrojet Flight 9268An Airbus A321 flying from Egypt to Saint Petersburg broke-up above the Sinai, killing everyone on board, becoming the deadliest air disaster in Russian history. ISIL claimed responsibility. Russian investigators found explosive residue and Egyptian authorities agreed it was a terrorist act.[13]224
2 February 2016Daallo Airlines Flight 159An Airbus A321 suffered an explosion shortly after taking off from Mogadishu, opening a hole in the fuselage through which the burnt body of the suicide bomber fell. The airliner was able to safely conduct an emergency landing. Militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility.
Please note that a lot of them failed.

Gaga MOL does not need to provide "evidence" to substantiate his comments. He's drawing a sensible parallel from existing evidence of other attacks, pretty much all of which have been undertaken or orchestrated by Muslim men.

Too many to list and would be stating the bleedin' obvious to do so.

The comments on this thread illustrate how deep and ingrained racial sterotypes are. White people can be Muslim, Muslims can be from any racial background. But this whole thing is a bit of a non-event. The number of attacks on planes is negligible although when one happens the death toll is very high. And many of the attacks are linked to other conflicts en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_airliner_bombing_attacks
The highest number of deaths in the UK is still those killed in N.Ireland during the conflict. (and those are on both sides through IRA and Loyalist violence.)

Yeh the present system is working at UK airports. Who exactly is O’L to ask for a change when he can’t guarantee the safety of his own passengers by proper gate control.All he ever cares about is his profit margin - not safety and security.

Oldgimmer1 was right when she pointed out it wasn't racism, but Islamophobia. I was using the wrong word.

Now this is where I part company with my other self. No way would I ever condone a racist remark but on the other hand falling over backwards to ignore the obvious is, in itself, racist.

For example when a BBC reporter commented that the crowds on Brexit night were predominantly white, and was criticised for that. Well, that was true (and we know why!).

Now, this falls into the same category. Let’s not all rush to shout ‘racist’ even if the comments come from the likes of O’L.

There is such a thing called common sense that is a good filter and needs to be used more often.

It is a fact that far more terrorism is committed by white far-right males than Muslims

How many people have Muslim terrorists killed & injured here in England in the last 10 years?
How many people have far right terrorists killed here in the last 10 years?

Does anyone have the figures?
I haven’t looked but I’m certain Muslim men have killed & injured far more people than white terrorists.

Where is your evidence for Muslim risk on Ryanair OG1? Or is it Islamophobia masquerading as risk?

Gaga - O Leary is, as I understand, talking about passengers who are likely to be carrying a bomb on board an aircraft.

Overwhelmingly Muslim.

Missfoodlove if it's any consolation to your SIL I invariably get pulled over when going through airport security. I can scarcely think of a time I was not. Patted down, have had hand luggage searched, swabbed.
I am female, white, British, over 65.

I would try to avoid Ryanair at all costs anyway. He treats all passengers with contempt.

Really? What about white US terrorism? Or the Norweigan terrorist? Or the New Zealand terrorist?

It is a fact that far more terrorism is committed by white far-right males than Muslims. But that doesn't fit the Islamophobic mainstream narrative.

Encouraged by the western worlds current political swing to the right. With racist leaders. Supported by mainstream media.

Most terrorist attacks are carried out by Muslim men or Muslim converts. It is not racist to say this it is a fact.

He may well be dead catting, whatever that is, but I don't believe he's racist.

Racism is calling out race, not religion.

Islamophobic possibly, but nonetheless stating a fact.

If he's racially profiling, he's racist.

I used to teach RE. One of the facts I uncovered as part of the programme of study was that there are more Caucasian muslims in the world than Arab.

Although O'L is racist, I don't assume he's stupid. He's dead catting to deflect attention from his core problem group/main customers.

The immigration service used to profile the people they pulled over for further questionning, they are not allowed to do that now. But virtually every single time I go through airport security I get pulled over and body searched, sometimes rather too intimately, and I am caucasian, blonde, over three score years and ten, with no implants, can anyone explain that? I am sure they pull over one in ten anyway and I am just desperately unlucky!

When I came back from Turkey (Antalya) last year all passengers on our flight to Manchester were body searched and swabbed this was after going through the normal security.

All airlines are guilty of allowing passengers on planes that have been drinking.
As long as alcohol is sold in airports it will be a problem.
The reason it’s so difficult to stop is that the perpetrators bags are on the aircraft by the time the drunk is at the gate, to remove the bags means the flight will be delayed causing great inconvenience.
The other issue is that although someone may only have had a modest amount of alcohol once at altitude the symptoms are exacerbated.

The reality is a Muslim male is more likely to be a terrorist than a white British female.
My SIL is mixed race, he is very often called to one side and swabbed, shoes off etc when traveling.
He flew to the US yesterday and even after clearing security he was taken to one side at the gate and then swabbed and searched.
He is fully accepting of the fact that he fits the profile of a terrorist.