BA refuses to back down in case of cross wearing Christian

13 April 2012

British Airways refused to back down last night over its ban on check-in worker Nadia Eweida wearing a cross around her neck. The airline has refused to clear the committed Christian for breaking BA's strict dress code and are expected to take further disciplinary action against her.

The decision - to be announced in the next few days - could see Miss Eweida suspended without pay for four weeks. She has been on unpaid leave from her job at Heathrow Terminal 4 for a month.

If the 55-year-old still refuses to remove the cross - the size of a five pence piece - she faces the sack.

BA sources suggested the airline was sticking to its guns by saying the disciplinary process would take 'some weeks to conclude' - meaning she will not be cleared this week.

Miss Eweida remained defiant yesterday over her determination to express her faith, just as her fellow Muslim and Sikh colleagues can wear headscarves, turbans and bangles to work.

Publicising her case, first revealed by the Daily Mail, in the United States yesterday, she said: "I cannot hide it. Jesus has to be glorified in my life. I am not politically motivated or minded. I just follow the Biblical truth."

Miss Eweida said she had been "overwhelmed" by the support in the strongly Christian country of America.

"I am just a normal employee trying to earn a living and look after my mother at the same time," she told Sky News.

She had been expected to hear a decision by telephone while in New York yesterday. But BA refused to tell her whether her appeal had been successful and that she had to wait for a letter when she returned to the UK.

A friend of Miss Eweida, from Twickenham, south west London, said last night: "It is not looking good and we are expecting BA to not back down and hold their ground. This is just prolonging the agony."

Last week Muslim teaching assistant Aishah Azmi lost her bid to wear her veil in class in what was hailed as a victory for racial integration.

It followed Jack Straw's call for Muslim women to remove their veils - provoking a long-running row over religious dress.

BA sent Miss Eweida home in September after she refused to cover up the cross on her necklace because jewellery is banned under the airline's uniform code.

She has insisted the cross is not jewellery but a symbol of her deep faith and plans to sue for religious discrimination if BA do not back down.

Miss Eweida was hauled before a senior manager at BA's offices in Heathrow last week to explain why she had flouted the rules.

She was also threatened with disciplinary action over her decision to publicise her case. BA's code of conduct bans employees from speaking to the media about the company without permission.

The airline last night refused to comment on Miss Eweida's case pending the outcome of the hearing. But a BA source hinted the airline would hold its ground. The source said: "The process will take some weeks to conclude."

Miss Eweida is from an Egyptian background and attends Pentecostal as well as Arabic churches. A petition backing her case has been signed by 300 of her colleagues, and she has the support of her local MP, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Vince Cable.

Her treatment by the 'world's favourite airline' has been condemned as "loopy" by Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, while Tory former Minister Ann Widdecombe has cut up her BA executive card in disgust.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in