‘Racial discrimination’: Sikh pilot claims he was told to remove turban for inspection at airport security

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A Sikh pilot claims he was asked to remove his turban for manual inspection at airport security in a move that critics are calling “racial discrimination”.

Captain Simranjeet Singh Gujral, who works for India’s national carrier Air India, was passing through Madrid airport security when he was asked to remove his turban, despite clearing the metal detector with no problems.

He was due to operate a flight to Delhi, reports India Today.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the leader of Sikh political party Shiromani Akali Dal, has written to India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar about the incident.

In a letter shared on Twitter, Mr Singh Sirsa said that Captain Singh Gujral was “subjected to racial discrimination because of his turban”.

Being asked to remove his turban “is an offence in the eyes of a Sikh”, he said.

It demonstrated “a case of bias and racial attitude” towards Sikhs“, he added.

“The turban is the essence of a Sikh’s identity and it is important to create awareness at global level about how sensitive Sikhs are about their turban.”

The Independent has contacted Madrid airport for comment.

In May 2018, a Canadian government minister said he was repeatedly told to take off his turban at Detroit airport by a security agent in what he branded a discriminatory security check.

Navdeep Bains’s saga caused a minor diplomatic incident, prompting Canada to complain to US officials and officials from the Trump administration to release an apology.

Mr Bains, the minister of innovation, science and economic development, was returning to Toronto after meetings with Michigan state leaders in April 2017 and had already gone through security checks when the incident took place.