NEW YORK — A Pakistani-born pilot is suing JetBlue Airways Corp. for discrimination, claiming the airline rescinded a job offer and told him it was because of his background.
Faisal Baig, a U.S. citizen who was raised in Yonkers, claims in the suit that an airline manager told him in March that he was a "security risk."
According to the suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Baig asked, "Are you saying that you are not hiring me because of my name or my religion? . . . Are you saying you are not hiring me because of where I'm from?"
The manager answered, "Yes, and JetBlue considers you a security risk," according to the suit.
Baig says he was offered the job in February and had already received a ticket to attend the airline's training school in Orlando, Fla. The 40-year-old, a Muslim, had previously flown for Independence Air for nearly six years.
"I was devastated," he said. "I've been living in this country since I was 7, and now somebody's telling me I'm not a good American."
Bryan Baldwin, a spokesman for JetBlue, declined to comment because it is a pending legal matter.
Baig, whose suit seeks an unspecified amount of money, is now living in Raleigh, N.C., where he is continuing to look for work as a pilot.