United Airlines Responds to Discrimination Claim

United Airlines has indicated plans to reach out to Tahera Ahmad, the Northwestern University interfaith chaplain who says she was discriminated against on a flight by being refused to be given an unopened can of Diet Coke.

“United is a company that strongly supports diversity and inclusion, and we and our partners do not discriminate against our employees or customers,” according to a statement posted online Saturday morning. “We are reaching out directly to Ms. Ahmad to get a better understanding of what occurred during the flight.”

Read More: Can Diet Coke Be Used as a Weapon on an Airplane?

Ahmad claims she was given an opened can of Diet Coke by a flight attendant and when asked for an unopened can, was informed that she could not have it because it could be used as a weapon. The attendant is also alleged to have said giving her an unopened can was against airline policy, but Ahmad posted on her Facebook page early Saturday morning a white man sitting near her was served an unopened can of beer.

She didn’t get much support from other passengers on the flight, either. Ahmad claims one man leaned over and said “You Moslem, you need to shut the f--- up. ... You know you would use it as a weapon, so shut the f--- up.”

According to United, the airline is also discussing the matter described with Shuttle America, a regional partner that operated the flight.

Ahmad later posted on Facebook that the flight attendant apologized for her “unethical behavior” and that the pilot reached out to her and said that as a white male he recognized his privilege and that he didn’t know what it was like to be a minority and have to go through something like this.