BONN: German pilots have grounded more than 220 flights because they were being used to deport failed asylum seekers, reported Independent.
Many of the pilots involved said they wanted no part in sending people back to Afghanistan, where violence is still rife following years of war and occupation by Western forces.
Germany has deemed it a “safe country of origin” in some cases, despite ongoing violence and repression in parts of the country.
The figures were obtained by the Die Link political party, which is commonly referred to as the Left Party.
Some of the grounded flights belonged to Lufthansa and its subsidiary, Eurowings.
The decision not to carry a passenger was ultimately down to the pilot on a “case by case decision”, Lufthansa spokesman Michael Lamberty told a local newspaper.
He added: “If he has the impression that flight safety could be affected, he must refuse the transport of a passenger. Should security personnel at the airports have some sort of information in advance which indicates that a situation could escalate during a deportation, they can decide ahead of time not to let the passengers board.”
Germany processed more asylum applications than all 27 other EU countries combined. European statistics agency Eurostat said that the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) decided 388,201 asylum cases in the first six months of 2017.
Mr Bigzad, an Afghan, faced deportation to the city where the Taliban had threatened to kill him.
“You’re not going to take him; I’m not flying,” the pilot said. “Someone’s life is at risk.”
During the Vietnam war, a student being sent back to South Vietnam after he participated in an antiwar demonstration was killed by the pilot when he tried to hijack the plane. He was certain the South Vietnamese government was going to execute him when he got home. If the government is going to force people onto a plane, they have to provide a guard as well. It isn’t safe to just put them on a commercial flight alone.
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