I'm not sure what the real story is here... Is Delta really discriminating, or are they just saying that you need to have the proper visa for the destination country (in this case, Saudi Arabia) before you can fly? Because if that's the bottom line, then I'm pretty sure that's a standard boarding requirement for airlines.

It's actually a really confusing story, or maybe I'm just not sharp.

Yeah, it is confusing, and I just don't think it's really all that simple. For one thing, I think it's appropriate for an airline to say you can't board their flight to X place if you don't have a visa for X place. If they didn't do that, they'd be liable for carrying back everyone who was trying to get into that country undocumented.

I note that this policy applies to Christians, as well, if they're carrying a Bible or wearing a cross. So it's not particularly discriminatory to Jews, just non-Muslims.

And finally, who is making a big deal out of this?

Colby M. May, senior counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative legal group founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, said his office is trying to determine if the agreement runs afoul of U.S. law.

Hmmmmmmmm.

I suppose there's an argument that Delta shouldn't fly there at all, but...they can't be the only American airline that does. And Saudi Arabia isn't the only country that places restrictions on who can enter. So I guess I'm not sure why this is such a big issue, except that apparently, end-times Christians want to make it one.

Yeah. Here's (some of ) the backstory.

who is making a big deal out of this?

Broken clock, etc.

Yeah, the only "news" is that somehow Delta is "officially" partnered with the Saudi airline, which now makes them somehow responsible for the godawful discrimination policies that that country has.

I see Huffington Post is already walking it back...

Editor's note: An earlier headline for this story, "U.S. Jews Not Able To Fly On Delta Flights To Saudi Arabia," was changed to more accurately reflect the nature of the controversy.

The new headline is Delta Partnership May Cause Travel Headaches For Non-Muslims. And I see the story originated at WorldNetDaily, affectionately known as "WingNutDaily." Looks like HuffPo (hardly a bastion of accurate reporting itself) got trolled.

Oh, for heaven's sake. My driver's license doesn't cut it for getting on any plane to visit my family in Montreal; I always have to show my passport.

From whatI saw on this earlier today - Delta's policy for travelers going to Saudi Arabia has not changed at all. The only thing changed is that Saudi Arabian Airlines is now a member of Sky Team Alliance (along with KLM, Air France, Korean Air Lines and several others) and someone decided to make some political hay while the sun shone. You could reasonably make the argument that Saudi Airlines shouldn't have been brought into Sky Team, but pretty much everything else on this is BS.