US Airways Wants Imams’ Lawsuit Dismissed

US Airways this week asked a federal court in Minneapolis to dismiss a discrimination lawsuit filed by six Muslim clerics who were removed from a Phoenix-bound flight in November.

In a response to the suit, which was filed in March, the Phoenix-based carrier is asking a judge in the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to dismiss the case, because the company is “required to adhere to the main points of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Common Strategy regarding security threats in the aviation context.”

“Flight crewmembers are required to mentally assess each passenger’s behavior and the potential for threat. Moreover, the common strategy notes that this is a subjective analysis, and recognizes that there is no key factor that applies in every situation,” it states,” the response adds.

The six Imams, who were attending a national Imams conference in the Twin Cities, allege that the carrier refused to fly them “on the basis of their perceived race, religion, color, ethnicity and national origin.”

In addition to being removed from the flight, the men were detained briefly and questioned for five hours. Despite clearance from multiple law enforcement agencies, US Airways refused to transport them the next day.

After completing an internal investigation, the airline concluded that its employees acted properly, which is why the carrier now wants the case to be dismissed.