Waris Ahluwalia, a Sikh actor known for roles in Wes Anderson films, was turned away from an Aero Mexico plane because of his turban.
Ahluwalia, who is also a designer and has appeared in films like “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “The Darjeeling Limited,” was held until everyone else had been boarded before he had his bag searched. He was also swabbed and patted down. When the actor was asked to remove his turban he refused.
“That is something that I would not do in public,” he told the N.Y. Daily News. “That’s akin to asking someone to take off their clothes.”
When he refused he was told that he would have to find another plane. Ahluwalia posted a picture of himself with his plane ticket after being turned away.
“I was shaking at first,” he said. “That’s not a nice thing to be told, that you are not allowed to fly on this plane because of something you are wearing, or because of your religious beliefs.”
The four S symbol on Ahluwalia’s ticket stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection, which flags passengers for additional inspection after passing through security.
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“I’ve had the magic four S’s before,” the actor said. “I’m really lucky on my ‘random’ selection.”
