Jewish Passengers Express Concern Over Palestinian Flag Badges on Planes
There have been two recent incidents involving staff wearing Palestinian flag pins at Qantas and Virgin Australia, and this has led to complaints from some passengers.
Several passengers have raised concerns about the wearing of Palestinian flag pins by employees of Australian airlines.
For example, a staff member at Dallas airport checking passengers in for a Qantas flight from Dallas to Sydney was spotted wearing a Palestinian flag badge, which goes against Qantas’s badge policy.
Furthermore, a 16-year-old student of Jewish descent alerted the staff member about the potentially intimidating and offensive nature of the flag to Jewish passengers, only to be rebuffed by the employee quoting his free speech and amendment rights in the US.
The person wearing the badge was revealed to be employed by a third-party ground service provider and not a Qantas employee, and Qantas has escalated the issue with the ground service provider.
Qantas has reminded all employees of its policy on wearing unauthorized badges and stressed the seriousness of this matter.
In another incident, multiple cabin crew members on a Qantas Link flight from Melbourne to Hobart wore Palestinian flag badges, and a Jetstar employee reportedly shouted “Free Palestine” during a flight from Melbourne to Ballina.
Meanwhile, a Jewish passenger lodged a complaint about a flight attendant at Virgin Australia believed to be wearing a Palestinian flag pin; however, it was later revealed to be a flag of the United Arab Emirates, which is approved by the airline.
Virgin Australia clarified that crew members are allowed to wear approved flag pins on their uniform to assist passengers from other cultures. This policy is especially applicable to crew members who speak languages other than English.
