a

British Airways
Denies Bias Claim

Washington (JTA) — British Air-
ways has denied that it discrim-
inated against an Orthodox Jew
who said he was booted out of an
airline lounge for praying.
Aaron Tyk, an assistant at-
torney general for New York
state, went to the lounge to qui-
etly recite his morning prayers
during a layover at London's
Heathrow Airport.
When he concluded, a British
Airways employee approached
him and asked him to leave.
"I was told that as a Jew I can-
not be there; it was only for Mus-
lims," said Mr. Tyk, adding, "I
was made to feel like someone in
Nazi Europe in the '30s."
The airline denied that its em-
'73
ployee made any reference to Mr.
Tyk's religion or that its lounge
was reserved for Muslims.
"Ethnicity and religious back-
ground has nothing to do with an
entitlement to a particular
lounge," said John Lampl, a
British Airways spokesman in
New York.
Mr. Lampl said Mr. Tyk was
not authorized to be in the lounge
because it is reserved for execu-
tive club members and for pas-
sengers traveling from North
America, India and the Middle
East.
Mr. Tyk was en route from Tel
Aviv to New York.
Mr. Lampl said the airline
- considers Israel part of Europe
for operational purposes because
it is a "short-haul flight."
Flights from Cairo and Per-
sian Gulf states, however, are
considered part of their long-haul
operations, Mr. Lampl said.
Mr. Tyk was astounded:
"They've attempted to accom-
plish what the Arab states have
not been able to accomplish, and
that is to eradicate Israel from
the Middle East," he said.
The airline said Mr. Tyk was
asked to leave only after it was
determined that he was not au-
thorized to be there, but Mr. Tyk
maintains that the employee, a
senior customer service agent,
never asked about his itinerary
or wanted to see his ticket.
"I was evicted from the lounge
only because I was Jewish," said
Mr. Tyk, who sometimes defends
state agencies against employ-
ees' discrimination claims.
In a letter to the chairman of
British Airways, New York At-
torney General Dennis Vacco
wrote: "I am outraged that any-
one should be denied access to
places of public accommodation

based on the fact that they ap-
pear to belong to a particular eth-
nic group.
"That a person should be so
treated for the quiet observation
of their most sacred religious be-
liefs is especially outrageous."

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