Mother City stayover cost airline man’s job

MASOUD Sharif withstood imprisonment and torture during Iran’s Islamic revolution, but he could not withstand the charms of Cape Town.

The United Airlines service director called in sick for the only shift he was due to work during a 19-day holiday in the Mother City.

And because his employer did not believe him, he was told he was likely to be fired after 24 years’ service.

He opted for retirement instead from his job at Dulles Airport in Washington, but sued the company for age discrimination.

Last week, he lost his case before three judges in the US Court of Appeals.

Interviewed at Dulles Airport after his return, Sharif blamed the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and a Lufthansa strike for his failure to find a stand-by flight home for his shift in March 2014.

He said this led to a panic attack, which was why he had called in sick.

In a 2015 judgment, US District Court Judge Liam O’Grady said Sharif’s anxiety stemmed from his imprisonment and torture in his native Iran in 1979.

“[In about] 2009, Sharif requested intermittent [medical] leave as necessary to manage his anxiety,” he said.

United told the appeal court Sharif had not only taken sick leave fraudulently, but lied about it afterwards.

The judges said Sharif’s version of events was improbable.

“It seems perfectly logical for United Airlines to conclude that Sharif did not want to interrupt his Cape Town vacation to come back for one day of work.”