‘I felt so helpless’: Winnipeg woman forced to remove hijab on Flair Airlines flight

A Muslim woman said she was left helpless and humiliated after she was forced to remove her hijab while boarding a Flair Airlines flight. Danton Unger reports.

A Muslim woman said she was left helpless and humiliated after she was forced to remove her hijab while boarding a Flair Airlines flight.

It happened on June 20 at the Toronto Pearson Airport. Kazi Amin was returning to her home in Winnipeg after a family trip to Bangladesh. She went through airport security without any issue, but when she went to board her Flair Airlines flight, things took a turn.

“They looked at the passport and screamed and said, ‘You don’t look anything like your picture. What is this?’” Amin’s daughter, Afsara Raidah, told CTV News.

Raidah said the attendant took issue with her mother’s passport photo. It was taken nearly 10 years ago, before she started wearing a hijab.

“She started to yell and say, ‘You have to take off your head scarf,’” Raidah said, noting a hijab is a religious covering. She said it should only be removed among family—to remove it in public would be the equivalent of undressing.

Despite the protest, Amin said she was forced to take off her hijab right there at the gate in front of everyone.

“I felt so helpless, so humiliated,” Amin told CTV News. “I didn’t know what else I could do.”

According to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, you don’t have to remove a religious head covering unless it causes an alarm during screening. Even then, if a physical search is required, a private room should be made available.

Raidah and Amin said none of those procedures were followed.

Flair Airlines CEO Maciej Wilk told CTV News in a written statement that discrimination of any kind is not tolerated. He said the individual in this case was employed by Flair’s ground handling partner, AGI.

“AGI has issued a formal apology to the passenger, and the employee involved is on leave pending a full investigation,” the statement reads.

He said both Flair and AGI provide mandatory training in human rights and religious accommodation aligned with Transport Canada requirements.

“…we sincerely regret that this experience left our passenger feeling disrespected. No one should ever feel singled out or diminished while travelling,” the statement reads. “Every customer deserves to feel safe, valued, and treated with dignity, and we are firmly committed to upholding that standard across every touchpoint, with every partner, on every flight.”

CTV News reached out to AGI for comment.

The response falls short for Amin and Raidah who have now filed complaints with Flair Airlines and Transport Canada, and are seeking legal counsel.

“I think it’s 100 per cent Islamophobia,” Raidah said.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims released a statement about the incident, calling it a serious violation of religious freedoms and basic rights. It adds that its legal team is involved and will be engaging further.

“We are very concerned that such an alleged incident took place within an airport and flight service, where so many of us depend on the professionalism of the staff for basic safety,” the statement reads.

“There is no room for Islamophobia in Canada’s airports or airlines, period.”