Standoff ends, Sikh-American actor flies home wearing his turban

New York, February 11

Ending his two-day standoff with Aeromexico, Sikh-American actor Waris Ahluwalia has returned home on board Mexico’s flag carrier after he was barred by it from boarding a flight as he refused to remove his turban.

Ahluwalia, 41, landed in New York yesterday, after being allowed to board a new Aeromexico flight without removing his turban for a check.

“I was asked to rub it with my hand, then present my hand for swabbing, which I did. That had been the past security practice,” the actor, model and designer was quoted as saying by the New York Times.

Before takeoff from Mexico City, he posted a photograph online of himself inside an aircraft with his arms around the shoulders of what appeared to be two Aeromexico pilots.

“He told us that the check was smooth,” said Harsimran Kaur, the legal director for the Sikh Coalition, a civil-rights group that worked to resolve the impasse while Ahluwalia spent two days at the airport.

Yesterday, Aeromexico apologised to Ahluwalia, saying it “recognises and is proud of the diversity of its passengers”.

“We apologise to Mr Waris Ahluwalia for the bad experience he went through with one of our security personnel,” Aeromexico said in a statement.

The airline said it works to maintain strong security measures while respecting its passengers’ cultures and beliefs.

Ahluwalia felt “great” about the apology, but said there’s more work to be done.

On Monday, Ahluwalia was not allowed to board the Aeromexico flight from Mexico City to New York, triggering the standoff and condemnation from the fashion community.

Ahluwalia is also a designer known for his House of Waris jewelry line and other design work.

He was recently nominated for best supporting actor by the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards for his role in a Canadian thriller ‘Beeba Boys’. Ahluwalia is also a social activist who has campaigned for greater awareness of the Sikh religion.

In 2013, he appeared as a model in a Gap ‘Make Love’ advertisement that was posted in New York City subways and later defaced with racist graffiti.