Calls have been made to boycott Delta Air Lines, following its statement in response to flight attendants wearing badges bearing the Palestinian flag, and its decision to only allow badges bearing the American flag.
The Washington Post highlighted a post by an X user on Tuesday of two photos of Delta flight attendants wearing badges described as “Hamas badges.”
The next day, the airline wrote on social media in response to one of the flight attendants’ critics: “I understand because I would be horrified too, personally. Our employees reflect our culture and we do not take lightly when our policy is not followed,” which was seen as an insult to the Palestinian flag.
The company quickly backtracked, with a Delta spokesperson saying in a statement to The Washington Post on Thursday that “the airline’s social media post was not consistent with our values and mission.” He added that the team member who wrote the post has been counseled and no longer supports Delta’s social channels, but did not specify whether the team member still works for Delta.
The airline said in a statement that the flight attendants photographed on separate flights were still working for the company and had received support from the company. While it had previously allowed pins representing countries outside the United States to be worn on uniforms, it announced that starting Monday only pins representing the American flag would be allowed, a move the airline said was in response to this week’s incident.
In contrast, Palestinian activists condemned Delta's response, and several social media users said they planned to boycott the airline.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, deputy national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights group, told the newspaper he initially hoped the Delta tweet wasn’t written by someone who works for the airline. He said the post could make people think the Palestinian flag is “a symbol of a hate group.”
“What happened with Delta is the latest example of racism against Palestinians,” Mitchell said, adding that CAIR welcomed Delta’s retraction, and “I hope this incident will start moving things in a different direction.” He noted that CAIR received more than 8,000 civil rights complaints in April 2023, the highest level in its 30-year history.
Palestinian Americans face fear and violence amid the war in Gaza, the newspaper said, as their support for civilians in the Gaza Strip has been misunderstood as support for Hamas.
Since October 7, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza with absolute American support, leaving more than 126,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, which has put Tel Aviv in international isolation and led to its being prosecuted before the International Court of Justice.
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