Would you trust an Airline with a Muslim Pilots?

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Kayla

Nikki M - you state in another question that you are a tourism major. If you get nervous by young male muslims maybe it is time to change your major. If you plan to work in tourism you need to be more open to ALL sorts of people.

And to answer the question - No, it does not bother me one bit whether the pilot is muslim or not. Can he take the plane to where I want to go, then I am happy

Matthew B

Be alright unless he parked it into an american landmark.

Knownow't

Wouldnt bother me a bit.....may worry me more if I saw the pilot coming down the aisle with rosary beads in his/her hand.

Eclipsepearl

I'm a former Flight Attendant and I've never given it a thought. I'm Jewish and I couldn't give a hoot what religion the pilots are. I've been to almost 60 countries and flown on over 40 different airlines, some in countries with large Moslim populations, so chances are, I've had a Muslim pilot at some point.

When pilots are chosen, they are also evaluated psychologically and part of their duties have to do with passenger handling. To be a commercial pilot anywhere, it's very competitive. Someone with the wrong motivations and/or wasn't of the right character would simply not make the cut.

Pilots who love to fly but don't want to do the customer-handling stuff are encourged to go into cargo transport. The joke in the airline industry was "bags don't b*tch"!

Don't forget that they also have to pass security just like the passengers do. Many pilots around the world train in the U.S. so they needed to pass a security screening to get a visa. One of the issues that arose after 9/11 was the question of who gets a visa to study in the U.S. so now it's probably even more strict.

Airline people look out for each other too. If someone is acting "off", it's taken more seriously by their peers than what would happen in an office. They want to be safe just like the passengers do!

I can honestly say that in my 13 years as a Flight Attendant, I NEVER had a pilot I didn't trust. There were some colorful guys flying up there and a few (okay, more than a few) of them who didn't share my political views, but all were stable and dependable. I flew purser a lot so I met most of them.

One pilot used to greet the passengers over the intercom with "The Lord has given us this day and for that we are grateful. Welcome everyone aboard..." He's probably long retired and the airline no longer exists but still, he never offended or acted irrationally. He did kind of drive his copilots crazy with all the Bible quotes in the cockpit...

I have to admit that very observant Muslims and Jews rarely go into this profession because the crazy schedules don't permit the lifestyle these two religions dictate. Keeping strictly Kosher or Halal while working for a western airline would be difficult too.

Commercial air travel is safe for so many reasons. This isn't really something to be concerned about.

Nibs

I would trust them as much as I would trust any other pilot from any country, race or religious group. I'm assuming this question stems from 9/11, when you have to bare in mind the people who carried out the attacks were only trained to fly the aircraft, and were not the actual pilots of the initial flights.

Andy

This is an interesting question. I have to admit that when I do see a passenger of arab decent I tend to double take and keep an eye on them just incase. This is not because I am a racist (I actually have many muslim friends) but the media and society has molded our minds after 9/11 to look at them a different way. Most of the time I don't see the pilots so I have no idea if they are muslim or not, what I don't know can't hurt me right? I have to say that if I do see a pilot who is of arab decent, eventhough I don't cancel the flight because of this reason, I do ponder. I would never avoid a flight just because of this reason but I do get a little nervous. As said in an above post, airlines nowadays put pilot through a lot of background checks and such so this puts my mind at ease a little bit. I definitely consider myself as a tolerant person but if I do see someone of arab decent sit in the waiting area waiting for the same flight as me, I do start thinking of all the things that could go wrong. But I would never let that be the reason to ruin my trip.

smudger...

dont fly,so i dont care....

Anita B

Absolutely. Commercial airliners have a very extensive check of their pilots before sending them on their various routes so I wouldn't mind at all. What most people don't realize that the "pilots" on the planes that crashe dinto the Twin Towers were NOT commercial pilots but hijackers. That's a BIG difference.

Of course I HAVE flown with many Muslim pilots as I work with a company that evaluates airline services and whatnot. And I have no complain to date. In fact one airline in particular I found to be very sweet that had a Muslim pilot and offered a prayer of safe passage so that God would protect everyone on the plane. Very sweet. Ok I'm straying from the point. My point is I wouldn't mind flying on a plane with a Muslim pilot :-)

Samantha R

Wouldn't really bother me....dont tend to see them anyway so how would you really know...Plus i take valium when i fly so would be blissfully unaware!!!

iceman

Well we saw what happend with the Egypt air pilot. He intentionally crashed into the sea and killed everybody on board.

Bottom line is that I would go way out of my way to avoid it, but i would always choose non-middle eastern/african carriers if I have choice.

mal g

I would be OK if I knew he had come to work with his own car which he parked neatly in the car park, then bought a newspaper and put it in his briefcase with his thermos flask and sandwiches before joining the aircraft, but............ If he came to work on the bus, and carried nothing then I may get a little worried.

However, to be serious, I think it would be safe to assume that on certain airlines you would be more likely to have a Muslim pilot than any other, so I suppose 'yes' I would trust them. Why not?

Beth L

I dont think I would be as trusting on a british airline with muslim pilots but its wouldn't bother me if I ws flying an asian airline with muslim pilots.

NikkiMâ™¥BTB 08/29/09â™¥

I have no problem with it. I have a friend who is a pilot and you have no idea the scrutiny they put these people under before hiring. I'm sure that scrutiny doubles for muslim pilots (sad to say, but unfortunately it is the truth these days). The stuff my white christian friend went through is about 10 times worse than I've even seen cops go through during hiring periods.

So the answer is yes I would, I have no problem with that. I will openly admit though that if I see a young male muslim passenger I do get a little nervous and I will watch to see if they are acting nervous or antsy. I try not to, I do not consider myself a racist in the slightest, but it's hard not to have that thought cross through your head for a moment or two.

On the other hand, if i see ANYONE acting a little nervous and antsy (more so than just a nervous flyer) I do get a little anxiety with the thoughts of what they could be nervous about.

welsh kid123

i don't know it depends if i wasn't in any rush i wouldn't take that plane however if i was in a rush i would try other things first like check if there are any other planes flying out with spare seats going to the same place. Basically no sorry if i offended anyone but if you think about it most people on the news are not from this country. just the other day i was listening to the news and it said that some man who was a Muslim had tried to purchase explosives in the k for a plot. and he admitted that it was for a plot. they blew up the twin towers for no reason at all and i don't trust them like i said before sorry if i offended anyone it's just my opinion

hope this helps with your query :)

*(~Beatin' A Dead Horse~)*

I would probably see if there were any other flights with different pilots, but if not, you gotta get there don't you?

I am not Islam, but I can tell you they get a bad rap. Hardly any at all are radical enough to cause any harm to anybody, because if I remember right, the Quran forbids killing any living being.

So, I don't know. It probably wouldn't be my first choice, but I wouldn't stay behind just because of their religious principles. Besides, if they were actually radical, they wouldn't be given a license to fly anyway.

QOSBen

I wouldn't trust them. I don't really trust any religious person with anything but atleast I know a christian or a catholic wouldn't blow themselves up for their religion.

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