Summary
- Actor and comedian Eric Andre claims that the customs team at Melbourne Airport was the victim of racism because of the colour of his skin and made the incident public on social media.
- The incident reportedly occurred in Terminal 2 of Melbourne Airport and the actor/comedian was flying with Qantas.
- Data shows that in the US alone, the number of complaints about discrimination against passengers has increased by 26% compared to the previous year.
American actor and comedian Eric Andre has taken to social media to share his experience at Melbourne Airport, calling out the customs team for allegedly racially discriminating against the actor. The incident apparently occurred after the second of his third leg of the journey, when the customs officer pulled Andre over on the “dog sniffing trail,” and the actor claims this is not the first time he has faced racial discrimination at the airport.
The incident
Actor and comedian Eric Andre claimed in an Instagram post that he was racially profiled at Melbourne Airport (MEL) when the customs team sent the actor through a special line where the passengers were sniffed by dogs. According to the actor, this is not the first time he has been racially discriminated against at the airport.
The actor arrived in MEL from Los Angeles and had a connecting flight to Brisbane. The incident reportedly took place in Terminal 2 of Melbourne Airport. In his post, the actor also criticized the Australian airline. Qantas which suggests that it was the airline he flew with.
Melbourne Airport’s social media team responded to the actor’s post with the following comment:
“Hi Eric, Melbourne Airport does not tolerate racism in any form. We are pursuing your complaint with the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), who are responsible for processing all international arrivals at Melbourne Airport and other Australian international gateways.
Melbourne Airport is proud to be the gateway to one of the world’s most multicultural cities. We welcome ALL passengers to Melbourne and expect everyone to be treated equally.
With kind regards,
The Melbourne Airport Team”
Not just Australia
Unfortunately, such incidents and reports are not limited to Australasia, but are also increasing in other parts of the world, such as the United States, where reports from the US Department of Transportation (DoT) show a 26% increase in cases of discrimination against passengers compared to the previous year.
Related
USDOT: Passenger discrimination complaints increase 26% year-on-year
This increase is partly due to the record number of air travel applications in 2023.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy flying
Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation shows that a staggering 223 complaints of discrimination were received in 2023, compared to 176 in 2022. Several such incidents came into the spotlight due to their high-profile nature, with airlines such as American Airlines and Southwest Airlines making headlines.
Not the only celebrity this week
Andre is not the only celebrity who reported clashes with ground staff at the airport last week. American musician Bebe Rexha also had a problem at Munich Airport (MUC). The artist reported that a male employee of 
Lufthansa tried to prevent her from boarding the plane and “psychologically abused” the singer because she spoke to the staff in Albanian.
Related
American singer Bebe Rexha claims that a Lufthansa employee psychologically abused her
The singer claimed that a staff member tried to stop her from flying.
Photo: Jokue photography | Shutterstock
It is not clear if there were any further developments in this case, but reports suggest that the airline contacted the artist upon learning of this incident.
While it is important that passengers do not misbehave and cause trouble with airport and airline staff (especially cabin crew), it is also important that staff adhere to the highest standards of professionalism in the aviation industry when dealing with passengers.
