Blocked American Skies

The American government is denying unwelcome airline passengers use of the airspace above the United States. Those who find themselves on the secret no-fly list are considered a threat to America, even though they’re 33,000 feet above the ground. They will be rerouted.

Air France 438 flies non-stop from Paris to Mexico City. On August 19 of this year, Belgian lawyer Paul-Emile Dupret was aboard that Boeing 777 on his way to a conference. One hour after his departure, Air France received a message from the FAA that AF438 would be denied permission to use American airspace on its way to Mexico.

The shortest route to Mexico was thus cut off. The pilot had to remain outside of U.S. airspace, fly around Florida and approach his destination from the Gulf of Mexico, thereby prolonging the flight time some 50 minutes. This meant increased fuel costs for Air France and the delay caused many passengers on board to miss their connecting flights in Mexico City.

The crew advised Monsieur Dupret that he was the apparent root of all this trouble because his name appeared on an American so-called no-fly list. For one reason or another, the people on the list are unwelcome in the United States. The only problem is, Dupret didn’t want to land in the U.S., not even for a layover. He only wanted to fly over the country at 33,000 feet, but even at that altitude, Dupret was considered a threat to American security.

Dupret is an employee of the liberal Confederal Group of the GUE/NGL (European United Left/Nordic Green Left) in the European Parliament. He describes himself as a civil rights attorney and committed opponent of globalization, but, as he told the French communist newspaper L’Humanité, he pursues these political goals exclusively via peaceful means.

His political affiliation can be the only reason for the United States to declare him persona non grata. No one outside of U.S. security services knows whose names are on the no-fly lists, nor does anyone know how they got there in the first place. Therefore, people can’t normally defend themselves against or prevent their inclusion on such lists. It’s only when individuals like Monsieur Dupret are suddenly subjected to the consequences that they learn about these data banks.

In July of last year, the United States and the European Union signed an agreement concerning the exchange of airline passenger data, something that was in fact already done in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. If a name appears on a no-fly list, the airline is notified and the passenger is denied a seat on that flight. The problem is that the German Ministry of the Interior interprets this to apply only to passengers who intend to actually land in the United States, not for flights that just pass through American airspace.

Noteworthy Victims of The Policy

Other European Union countries deal with such occurrences differently. In April, an Air France plane was forced to change its route and even land in the Caribbean for refueling because the United States refused the aircraft access to U.S. airspace. On board was Columbian journalist Hernando Calvo Ospina, a sharp critic of U.S. policies regarding Latin America.

However, the most notable victim of the no-fly list to date has been singer Cat Stevens, who changed his name to Yusuf Islam some years ago. His flight was rerouted to Washington, D.C., where he was interrogated by authorities and then sent back to London.

In the meantime, Air France has taken the precaution of advising Dupret that he would not be allowed to book his return on its non-stop flight from Mexico City to Paris.