MPower Change Members Demonstrate at Southwest Airlines Shareholder Meeting

Demonstrators call on CEO Gary Kelly to respond and implement reforms at the airline in the wake of a trend of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim incidents on Southwest Airlines flights

CHICAGO, IL – With Southwest Airlines unresponsive to weeks of community pressure, MPower Change members, along with supporters and allies, demonstrated  at the airline’s annual shareholder meeting at the Congress Plaza Hotel.

After a string of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim incidents on Southwest flights, Arab, Muslim, and other communities, including South Asians and others often perceived as Muslim, have significant concerns about policies and practices at the airline. In several cases, passengers have been delayed, barred, or removed from Southwest flights, seemingly for no reason other than speaking Arabic or appearing to be Muslim. In a recent case, Southwest staff initially failed to detain a man after he assaulted a woman and pulled off her headscarf on a Southwest flight.

Demonstrators voiced concerns about whether customers of Arab, Muslim, or perceived Muslim backgrounds are safe on Southwest flights and called on CEO Gary Kelly to formally respond to community requests. Demonstrators also expressed solidarity with Southwest pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics, who were picketing outside the shareholder conference.

The demonstration follows an open letter issued by MPower Change and 40 organizations to Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly, as well as an MPower Change petition that has gathered over 20,000 signatures.

Requests outlined in the petition and letter call for the airline to: apologize to affected passengers; review policies and standards for removing passengers from planes; and implement anti-bias training for front-line staff.

“While Southwest continues to ignore the growing outcry from Arab, Muslim, and South Asian communities and allies, we continue to be concerned about our safety while flying with the airline. Shareholders and CEO Gary Kelly need to know: business as usual can’t continue while our communities are unsafe on Southwest flights,” said MPower Change Director Linda Sarsour.

MPower Change is a grassroots movement rooted in diverse Muslim communities throughout the United States who are working together to build social, spiritual, racial, and economic justice for all people.