Muslim family barred from US holiday flight to Disneyland

A British Muslim man has spoken of his “frustration and anger” after his family was stopped from flying out to a dream holiday to Disneyland.

Mohammad Tariq Mahmood was travelling from Gatwick to Disneyland in California, in a group that included his brother and nine children, when they were stopped from getting the Norwegian Air flight on December 15th.

Security officials told the family, from east London, that there was a problem with their entry visas for the US and their authorisation had been cancelled.

They had already paid out £9,000 for the trip and gone through check-in.

Mr Mahmood said there was “a lot of frustration and anger” and that the children were “devastated”, adding “we did not know what to tell our kids”.

Local Labour MP Stella Creasy described the family as “extremely distressed and mystified” by their treatment. She has written to prime minister David Cameron urging him to press US authorities about what she says is a growing problem of British Muslims being barred from the US without explanation.

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump recently called for all Muslims to be stopped from entering the US. – (Guardian service)