ONTARIO – An Air Canada pilot has been removed from flight duty for an unspecified amount of time after his anti-Israel social media posts left others expressing concerns about his trustworthiness in the cockpit.
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The StopAntisemitism Twitter account posted screenshots of several selfies posted to social media by Air Canada’s Captain Mostafa Ezzo, noting that the plane that he flies is the same one that the airline typically flies to Tel Aviv.
“They should probably keep him off that route. Just to be safe,” tweeted StopAntiSemism.
We are aware of the unacceptable posts made by an Air Canada pilot. We are taking this matter very seriously, and he was taken out of service on Mon, Oct. 9. We firmly denounce violence in all forms.
— Air Canada (@AirCanada) October 10, 2023
The Montreal-based pilot’s selfies included one taken in his Air Canada uniform, a Palestinian flag scarf draped casually around his neck. Others showed Ezzo holding signs with anti-Israel themes – “ISR*EL HITLER IS PROUD OF YOU – TERRORIST STATE” and a stick figure placing an Israeli flag in a trash can, along with the words “KEEP THE WORLD CLEAN.” A fourth screenshot captured by StopAntisemitism before Ezzo deleted his social media accounts displayed a flyer for a pro-Palestinian rally held in Montreal one day after the terror attacks took place in Southern Israel. A caption added by Ezzo read “[obscenity] you Israel Burn in hell,” and was accompanied by an image of a dog urinating on an Israeli flag.
StopAntisemitism tagged Air Canada in a second tweet, adding, “we imagine this hatred is a violation of company policy.” Air Canada responded with a post of its own several hours later, describing Ezzo’s posts as “unacceptable,” adding “We are taking this matter very seriously, and he was taken out of service on Mon, Oct. 9. We firmly denounce violence in all forms.”
Twitter users took little comfort in Air Canada’s statement.
“ ‘Out of service?’ What does that mean?” tweeted user Gene Valaitis. “If this pilot ever gets a chance to fly into Israel how can you guarantee he won’t go kamikaze with a plane full of passengers?”
Good news, thank you for the update. For everyone wondering who the pilot is or what he posted – https://t.co/OW1p7o4xKb
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 10, 2023
“Will he be put back in service,” wondered user Claude Leclair. “If so, I want to know. So I can change my flight.”
Air Canada sources told the Toronto Sun (www.bit.ly/491fdc3 ) that an investigation of Ezzo is underway and that while he would still be able to fly the airline as a passenger, he has been removed from all scheduled assignments.
“We did this because this individual’s opinions and publications on social media do not represent Air Canada’s views in any way,” said Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick. “This person has never been authorized to speak publicly while identifying themselves as an Air Canada employee.”
He should be terminated as well and lose his pilots license. He should then be placed on international terrorist watch list.
Snake on a plane.
Couldnt they tell just by his name?
“This person has never been authorized to speak publicly while identifying themselves as an Air Canada employee:
Can you believe them saying this? Not his views are a problem but saying so while identifying himself as an air Canada employee….