[Anonymous]

[thegruffalo_380]

The fast track card given by KLM on board their brand new 789 aircraft (very good product I must say) was supposed to speed up my arrival at Abu Dhabi airport on Xmas day, instead i ended up spending the next 24 hours there!!

I was denied entry because of my religious background. I asked.why? “Security Reason”was the reply but it was obviously not the case.

They took my passport and kept it there for almost two hours. I could’ve at-least taken an earlier flights had they had the decency to inform me of their decision earlier.
Instead I had to spend the next 22 hours airside waiting for the next available flight. They said that I can stay at the hotel inside the airport but guess what?
Yes it was closed for renovation.

Never again to a county that participates in killing innocent & poor people in Yemen. I kept feeling bad about going there so I guess it was a blessing in disguise.

[DanielS78]

That’s terrible. What a way to spend Xmas day!!
It seems that they are conducting extra security checks as my colleague was also recent asked to step aside.
Where did you sleep then?

[Schaible]

Well, in this part of the world it is often enough to have the “wrong face”. The UAE are subsidizing organized terrorism of their Muslim brothers and at the same time doing the crap which happened to you – simply for their quota.

[AFewGoodMen]

Indeed, they and their Gulf neighbours are the biggest financial backers of IS & other so called ‘Moderate Rebels’.
I have no idea why people even contemplate going on holiday to such places where the majority of workers are exploited, paid peanuts and treated worse than animals.

[AFewGoodMen]

What passport were holding gruffalo?

[thegruffalo_380]

British.
I have visited several times before but it was the first time this issue came up. They never think that we work with tour operators who were looking at introducing Abu Dhabi as an optional stopover destination & were actually asking me for my feedback. I wasn’t sure but now I can tell them exactly how I feel.

[MarcusGB]

But why did they stop you because of your “religious background”, were you dressed to show it, or something you carried…?
I have been through many times, and i know Roman Catholic clergy travel through there, and Dubai, but do not get stopped.

[thegruffalo_380]

Because I told them that my mother was originally from Iran. Like IS they hate Shias & particular anyone from Iran more than any other religion.
I suppose this is trivial compared with what the Saudis did recently.
Very interesting article by the independent newspaper. This is the link:
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/saudi-arabias-executions-were-worthy-of-isis-so-will-david-cameron-and-the-west-now-stop-their-a6794046.html

[AFewGoodMen]

Samallaround you need to get your facts right unless you are secretly an IS sympathiser!!!
Iran is certainly no innocent but they are still fighting against IS who are the biggest evil in the world. The UAE is participating in a Saudi led collation against the Houthis in Yemen who are also being killed by terrorist including IS. The UAE are even employing hundreds of colombian mercenaries to fight for them in return of a promise of instant citizenship to the UAE with one small catch. They must survive of course!!

[MajdiAlAyed]

@thegruffalo_380 your story doesn’t make sense, is misleading and to be honest shouldn’t get any sympathy from anyone that is thinking right.

First of all, you begin by trying to blame ur entry into the UAE to the KLM fast track card which has nothing to do with it. Whether you were in the Fast Track lane, Diplomatic lane or anyother, there is always the chance of being refused entry. This is not in the UAE only but anywhere in the world.

Next, you talk about “Never again to a country that participates in killing innocent & poor people in Yemen.”

If you know nothing about politics then I suggest that you stick to whatever it is you do best. The United Arab Emirates (and especially Abu Dhabi/Dubai) are progressive world class cities that have helped put the entire region on the world map which is more than I can say from wherever you come/came from.

Oh and just in case you want to play the Arab vs Western game which is becoming boring and overused, check out the below article.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/22/us-stops-british-muslim-family-flight-disneyland-david-cameron

The US recently denied entry for a family wanting to go to Disney over Christmas. Why don’t you complain about that.

[SimonS1]

Well it’s not as if the UK hasn’t caused it’s fair share of ‘collateral damage’ involving innocent and poor people along the way in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, and now we have moved on to Syria.

Time will tell if Chilcot will finally get his report completed this year so we can know the truth about Iraq at least. On the progress so far there’s probably more likelihood of Tony Blair finding those WMDs in his garden shed.

[thegruffalo_380]

I wasn’t blaming the fast track card, just saying that it did the opposite!!
Progressive maybe but that still does not give them the right to kill innocent people.
I’m not saying I agree with it but the US had a recent shooting incident involving individuals from the same background so they have the right to be careful. At-least they had the decency of informing them of their decision before boarding the flight. My passport details were provided to UAE authorities so they could’ve done likewise instead of making me endure the 24 hour wait there. I only few via Abu Dhabi because I had a free ticket with Etihad Airways.
Next time I will only consider flying with & via the best CX & HK. Best airline and lounges in the world. The new First class Pier lounge is absolutely amazing. I don’t mind staying there all day!!

[adking29]

@thegruffalo_380- Maybe they were right in denying you access to their country… If I was the head of state of a country you were trying to enter, and you come off as “high risk”. why would I want to let you in and create a massive liability for my government.. put yourself in the other person’s shoes… but you did bring it upon yourself…

[CathayLoyalist2]

AdKIng29, just how did thegruffalo_380 bring it upon himself. His comments relate to post arrival in ABH and what he experienced. So he mentioned his mother was originally from Iran. Did he offer that information or was he asked we don’t know. This sounds like a huge over reaction. If people were banned from some countries because of a certain family member was born in the ‘wrong’ country thousands would be banned everyday.

[Author]

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