Tribunal dismisses ‘racism’ claim by Scottish pilot

An employment tribunal has dismissed a claim of racial discrimination by a Scottish pilot at BA.

Travel Insurance News - 13/05/2010

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An employment tribunal has ruled against a pilot’s claim that professional assessment of his skill was negatively affected by his having blown the whistle on a ‘culture of racism’ at British Airways. Scottish pilot Douglas Maughan, 54, had alleged that following his exposure in a national newspaper of alleged wide-ranging racial abuse at the national carrier, his performance had been unfairly criticized by a trainer.

Mr Maughan, who has 29 years of experience, pilots the Boeing 777 on long-haul flights. He had sued British Airways over what he alleged was racial victimization, saying other pilots called him a ‘Jock’ and told him to go back to his ‘welfare state’ of Scotland.

In the employment tribunal, Mr Maughan said the pilot assessment he was given by Captain Adrian South had been negatively affected by his having blown the whistle on colleagues’ racism. The panel at Watford Employment Tribunal, however, disagreed.

The panel based its decision on several factors. The panel found Captain South a ‘credible’ witness. It also pointed out that he was an experienced trainer who would not receive any benefit from his low grading of Captain Maughan.

The panel also noted that managers at British Airways had given warnings to pilots that they would be punished if they mistreated Captain Maughan after the newspaper article was published. Mr Maughan had also alleged abuse of other races at the airline. British Airways refuted the claims of racism and said no other UK-based airline had such a diverse workforce.

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