You Won’t Believe What Delta Did Over Palestinian Flag Pins

Delta Air Lines recently found itself at the center of a major controversy involving the Palestinian flag. A now-deleted tweet by the airline appeared to support a post that falsely claimed two flight attendants wearing Palestinian flag pins were donning “Hamas badges.”

The uproar began when a user on X (formerly known as Twitter) posted, “Since 2001 we take our shoes off in every airport because of a terrorist attack on US soil. Now imagine getting into a Delta flight and seeing workers with Hamas badges in the air. What do you do?”

Delta’s response, which has since been removed, stated, “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.”

This response sparked outrage, particularly from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim advocacy organization in the US. CAIR condemned the tweet as “racist anti-Palestinian” and demanded an apology from Delta.

Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIR’s National Deputy Director, issued a statement saying, “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.”

In the face of mounting backlash, Delta issued an apology on X, emphasizing its commitment to inclusivity and respect. The airline clarified that the employee responsible for the post “no longer supports Delta’s social channels.”

“On Wednesday, we removed a reply that was not in line with our values. We strive for an environment of inclusivity and respect for all, in our communities and our planes. The employee responsible no longer supports Delta’s social channels. We apologize for this hurtful post,” Delta stated.

CBS News reported that the two Delta employees photographed wearing the Palestinian flag pins will remain with the airline, as their actions were in compliance with Delta’s uniform policy. However, moving forward, Delta has updated its policy to allow only US flag pins on uniforms.

Previously, pins representing various countries and nationalities were permitted, but Delta has now revised this policy.