WEB CHUTNEY

An American actor, designer and model Waris Ahluwalia was banned from boarding a flight from Mexico city to New York because he was wearing a turban.

You may remember Ahluwalia from a GAP advertisement in 2013 celebrating diversity

Ahluwalia went to Instagram to express his disapproval

Ahluwalia was not allowed to board the plane after he was asked to remove his turban. He was one his way to New York Fashion week and then went to twitter to explain he would be late

Dear NYC fashion week. I may be a little late as @aeromexico_com won't let me fly with a turban.… https://t.co/W24ZwXoHNb

— HOUSEofWARIS (@HOUSE_of_WARIS) February 8, 2025

He was made to wait at the airport for a while

Update. 13 hours later. Still in Mexico City. No traveler should be subjected to what I was… https://t.co/nJrlaUFOBf

— HOUSEofWARIS (@HOUSE_of_WARIS) February 9, 2025

Then a statement was released by the Sikh American Legal Defense & Education Fund saying:

“We are disappointed and concerned that Mr. Ahluwahlia was asked to remove his turban prior to boarding his flight. The turban is an integral part of a Sikh’s identity and removal in public is akin to a strip search. The security personnel involved in this debacle owe Mr. Ahluwahlia an apology and must be trained in cultural and religious awareness.”

To which Aeromexico replied

“renews its commitment to transport all passengers regardless of their religion, social status or gender. The airline, however, is required to meet the federal safety requirements outlined by the United States’ Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for review of selected passengers traveling to the United States. The airline regrets any inconvenience any passenger could perceive due to the application of these procedures.”

Ahluwalia appeared in many movies such as The Darjeeling limited

Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou

and was even nominated for best performance in a supporting roll in the Canadian Screen Award for his roll in Beeba Boys

Ahluwalia said he had been questioned about his turban before at airports but was never denied access to a flight because of it.