Tuesday, February 9, 2016: Sikh movie star Waris Ahluwalia finally received an apology and reached an agreement with Aeromexico on Tuesday, a day after the airline barred him from a New York flight for not removing his turban.
The details of the agreement were not immediately disclosed.
“We apologize to Mr. Waris Ahluwalia for the bad experience he had with one of our security elements in addressing your flight to New York in the Mexico City International Airport,” the airline wrote in a statement.
Security had demanded Ahluwalia publicly remove his turban at a security checkpoint even though it had not triggered a metal detector.
“This case motivates us to ensure that security personnel strengthen its care protocols, always respecting the cultural and religious values of customers,” the statement said.
RACIAL PROFILING OF WARIS AHLUWALIA AND OTHERS NEEDS TO STOP
Actor Waris Ahluwalia rejected a ticket back to New York City, fearing more travelers will be racially profiled in Mexico.
Ahluwalia felt "great" about the long-awaited apology, but said there's more work to be done.
"We're halfway there," Ahluwalia told the Daily News. The 41-year-old actor has vowed to remain in Mexico until the airline also guarantees that it will train employees to better work with Sikhs and educate them on how to screen people in religious headwear.
"The apology is fantastic, but that is something that has happened in the past," he said. "Now we need to be forward-looking. How do we prevent this from happening again, which is essentially the crux of why I'm here."
Ahluwalia stayed the night in Mexico on Monday — his way of protesting racial profiling after Aeromexico barred him from a New York-bound flight earlier in the day in the dispute over his turban.
“Good morning from Mexico City,” Ahluwalia posted on Instagram Tuesday morning beneath a selfie of himself holding a sketch of heart.
“On this day, and each day hereafter we must remember that our struggle against fear and ignorance is fought with love. That is the only way forward for humanity,” he continued, along with the hashtags #fearisanopportunitytoeducate and #lovenotfear.
"I want to go home," Ahluwalia said from his Mexico City hotel, where he's cooling his jets after his unexpected trip extension. "But now the next step is a conversation on education and the training of their staff. The training doesn't have to happen tomorrow ... we just need something in writing that they will work with the Sikh Coalition to train their staff. It's very simple."
He has ruefully joked that security officials had caused an “international civil rights brouhaha" — but he remained steadfast in his decision to sit fast until ensuring this doesn't happen to anyone else.
“This isn’t about me,” said Ahluwalia. “This isn’t about one person or about religious tolerance. This is about civil rights and racial profiling and if I have to be a part of that dialogue, I will be.”
The incident began on Monday morning as the actor and fashion designer tried to board a 7:15 a.m. Aeroméxico flight. Ahluwalia said security officers singled him out for a special screening, which is supposed to be random, because of his religious headwear. His boarding pass was labeled "SSSS," a code that indicates that a passenger has been flagged for enhanced pat-downs, having their possessions swabbed for explosive residue, and being wanded by a hand-held metal detector.
The checkpoint’s metal detector never went off, but Ahluwalia was asked to remove his turban in a public place regardless. He asked to be taken to a private area, but was denied.
“(Removing the turban) is not something that I would do in public,” he told the News. “That’s akin to asking someone to take off their clothes.”
The “SSSS” designation is supposedly random, but no one, let alone Ahluwalia, believes that it is.
“I’ve had the magic ‘SSSS’ before,” said Ahluwalia. “I’m really lucky on my ‘random’ selection.”
Aeromexico initially denied it had violated the actor's civil rights, claiming it was operating "in strict compliance with TSA protocol" — but security officials say that the rules do not require Sikhs to remove their turbans — religious headwear that symbolize one's commitment to the 15th-century monotheistic faith.
Ahluwalia filed a discrimination claim with Mexican officials, but has not heard from the government.
Meanwhile, he does not know when he will be returning home, where he was set to make some appearances at New York Fashion Week events this week.
Ahluwalia, who was born in Amritsar, India, has lived in the U.S. since he moved to Brooklyn with his family as a 5-year-old.
“I’m from a little town called NYC,” said the actor, whose credits include three Wes Anderson flicks and the Spike Lee joint, "Inside Man." “And the people from my town are quite resilient. I’m not taking this personally, but this is an opportunity to spark some change.”
Ironically, Ahluwalia's scene in "Inside Man" offered a wry prediction of Monday’s security problem. In the movie, Ahluwalia gets roughed up by police who see his turban and believe he’s a terrorist.
“What happened to my f---ing civil rights?” he rails at the officers. “I go to the airport, I can’t go through security without a ‘random’ selection.”
But he says he holds no hard feelings for Aeromexico.
"I'm not anti-Aeromexico at all. I want to sit down with them and help them spin this into a positive thing," he said. "The sooner I get home, the sooner I can return to Mexico, that's how I see it."