American airline Delta Air Lines will prohibit the display of flag pins on their flight attendants’ uniforms following harsh criticism it received after a post made on its X (formerly Twitter) page.
The incident set off on Tuesday after an American X user posted an image of two of the airline’s flight attendants wearing a Palestinian flag pin on their clothes with the caption, “Since 2001 we take our shoes off in every airport because a terrorist attack in U.S. soil. Now imagine getting into a Delta flight and seeing workers with Hamas badges in the air. What do you do?”
To which Delta Airlines’ account responded, writing, “I hear you as I'd be terrified as well, personally. Our employees reflect our culture and we do not take it lightly when our policy is not being followed.”
The response received criticism and calls for a boycott for allegedly confirming the claim that wearing a Palestine flag pin was the same as donning a "Hamas pin." The largest Muslim civil rights organization in the U.S., the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), criticized the company for the "racist anti-Palestinian tweet" and demanded an apology from the company.
"Whether this racist post on Delta’s X account was approved or unauthorized, Delta must apologize and take steps to educate its employees about this type of dangerous anti-Palestinian racism. Bigotry against Palestinian-Americans is absolutely out of control in workplaces and at schools – and it must stop,” the organization wrote on its X page.
The airline quickly moved to minimize damages, dismissed the employee who published the post on its behalf, and said Thursday that the post " removed a mistakenly posted comment on X Wednesday because it was not in line with our values and our mission to connect the world.”
“The team member responsible for the post has been counseled and no longer supports Delta’s social channels. We apologize for this error,” it added.
The company also said that the photos included in the original post depicted flight attendants on separate flights on different days and that none of them were fired for wearing the pins, as they complied with the company's existing uniform guidelines.
"We’re in touch with the flight attendants to offer support,” the company said and announced it would change its uniform policy: " However, Delta is shifting its pin allowance policy effective July 15. Beginning then, only U.S. flags will be permitted to be worn on uniforms. Previously, pins representing countries/nationalities of the world had been permitted.
“We are taking this step to help ensure a safe, comfortable and welcoming environment for all. We are proud of our diverse base of employees and customers and the foundation of our brand, which is to connect the world and provide a premium experience.”
The move joins a similar one taken by another airline JetBlue, which prohibited its servicemen from wearing flag badges after a Jewish passenger had his seat canceled after once he complained about a crew member wearing a Palestinian flag on their uniform back in May.