Delta Airlines is on the hot seat after a post on the X social media network. In response to a user who said they were terrified by a pair of flight attendants who wore Hamas badges (which turned out merely to be Palestinian flag pins), Delta’s social media staff responded supportively. They said in the tweet that they, also, would be terrified in such a situation, and added that Delta employees are meant to represent company culture and that the company takes very seriously allegations of breaches of policy in public-facing matters.
The post drew some high-profile notice from online activist groups. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which is the United State’s largest Muslim advocacy activist group, described Delta’s response as “racist” and called it out as an example of anti-Palestinian prejudice in its own post on Wednesday the 10th.
The post has since been deleted after arousing an online backlash. An explanation for the deletion was offered by an official Delta spokesperson on Thursday July 11 said that the post was deleted because it was not in line with Delta’s values and was seen as an encumbrance to their mission to connect all peoples of the world. The spokesperson added that the person responsible for the post has been subjected to counseling and removed from their role in creating content for Delta’s social media channels.
The flag of Palestine consists, I descending order, of a black horizontal stripe, a white horizontal stripe, and a green horizontal stripe which proceed from a rightward pointing red triangle on the leftmost side of the flag. Hamas, the current governing authority of the country that is currently designated a terrorist group by U.S. authorities, has its own flag—a green device that features an Islamic statement of faith known as the Shahada.
In response to the incident, Delta will be changing its pin allowance policy. Only U.S. flags will be permitted on uniforms.
