DOT: Discrimination complaints against airlines rise again

Discrimination complaints filed against airlines continue to rise, according to the latest monthly report issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Air Travel Consumer Report says there were eight complaints alleging discrimination in October. Two were in regard to national origin, two involving religion, and four in regard to race. That was up from six that had been filed in September and five complaints filed in October 2015, the agency said.

In comparison, the total number of complaints filed against airlines in October fell to 79 complaints compared with 100 a year earlier.

The agency recently began highlighting complaints alleging discrimination based on religion, race and national origin.

In recent months, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has urged the Transportation Department and airlines to do more to combat bias incidents of “flying while Muslim.” CAIR staff attorneys have said that little or nothing is done to prevent airlines from unfairly removing passengers or preventing them from flying on the basis that they pose a security risk even when the evidence is flimsy and suggests anti-Muslim bias.

The monthly consumer report is available online.