Don't Pray While You Fly

It was insulting enough to learn that a Canadian Muslim doctor was kicked off a plane for praying while flying a few weeks ago. Now, it's happened to an Orthodox Jewish man as well.

The action didn't seem to bother anyone, Faguy said, but a flight attendant approached the man and told him his praying was making other passengers nervous.

"The attendant actually recognized out loud that he wasn't a Muslim and that she was sorry for the situation but they had to ask him to leave," Faguy said.

The man, who spoke neither English nor French, was escorted off the airplane.

Air Canada Jazz termed the situation "delicate," but says it received more than one complaint about the man's behaviour.

Can you imagine the fear this man had when this happened while he had no idea why he was being removed because he didn't have an interpreter? And why did the flight attendant have to mention that he wasn't Muslim - as if that would have been enough to get him booted and/or calm other passengers in the first place?

The B'nai Brith told CBC that it will offer sensitivity training to Air Canada employees. Fine. Now how about offering common sense training to all passengers when they board or perhaps posting a sign warning that some people may actually pray while they fly and that such behaviour is not, in fact, a terrorist threat?