International airline Flydubai stops two transgender activists from boarding flight

International airlines Flydubai on Friday stopped two transgender rights activists from boarding a flight because of their ‘x’ gender.

The air tickets of transgender activists, Shahzadi Rai and Zehrish, who work for Gender Interactive Alliance, were cancelled just before they were to board the flight to Kathmandu via the United Arab Emirates, where they were headed to attend the annual meeting.

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After the incident, Shahzadi Rai took to social media to raise the hassle faced by them at Karachi Airport.

“Transgender persons are part of the mainstream in other countries but Flydubai don’t allow x-gender cards for travelling, which is transphobic behaviour by the airline. If they don’t allow travel on their planes then why even issue us tickets,” Shahzadi quizzed while she shared the ticket issued by the airline.

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“Shame on Flydubai for not letting khwaja siras fly on their airlines,” another transgender, whose Twitter handle is @sanakhusri, said.

Meanwhile, transgender activist Hina Baloch, whose Twitter handle is @surkhina, stated, “Today ShahzadiRai was barred from boarding flydubai flight KHI-DXB-KTM. This is hijraphobia and we urge the Pakistan Foreign Office to look into this matter ASAP.”

Just an hour before the tickets of transgender activists were cancelled, Shahzadi Rai had shared a smiling photo of herself from the airport and added a caption, “The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.” However, her excitement turned into a sour memory after she was denied boarding the flight.

(With inputs from agencies)

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