Woman whose name sounds like al-Qaida blocked from entering the US
A WOMAN whose name sounds like al-Qaida – when pronounced wrongly – has been stopped from entering the US.
DENIED: Aida Alic was stopped from entering the US because, she believes, her name sounds like al-Qaida [IG]
Aida Alic, 33, arrived at Geneva airport on Wednesday with her husband and two children to fly to New York for a holiday but was informed by airline staff they had been told by US authorities she was not allowed to fly into the country.
Ms Alic, who was born in Bosnia but has French nationality, was given no further explanation and her family were forced to return to their home near Chambery in the French Alps.
After searching US travel sites to discover why she had been blocked from flying she concluded it was because of her name, which appears surname first on her passport.
"Alic Aida, al-Qaida. When friends make the play on words to wind me up, I am used to it, but not this," she told Le Dauphiné Libéré.
"Especially since my name is actually pronounced 'Alitch'. It is of Yugoslav origin. And now here I am labelled as a risk."
Ms Alic intends to continue her enquiries with the US after she and her family were left €2,700 out of pocket when they received no refund on their airline tickets.
DENIED: Aida Alic was stopped from entering the US because, she believes, her name sounds like al-Qaida [IG] Ms Alic, who was born in Bosnia but has French nationality, was given no further explanation and her family were forced to return to their home near Chambery in the French Alps.
After searching US travel sites to discover why she had been blocked from flying she concluded it was because of her name, which appears surname first on her passport.
"Alic Aida, al-Qaida. When friends make the play on words to wind me up, I am used to it, but not this," she told Le Dauphiné Libéré.
"Especially since my name is actually pronounced 'Alitch'. It is of Yugoslav origin. And now here I am labelled as a risk."
Ms Alic intends to continue her enquiries with the US after she and her family were left €2,700 out of pocket when they received no refund on their airline tickets.
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