‘Shame on the people at the Melbourne Airport that have this cockamamie procedure’: Eric André
American comedian Eric André has sensationally warned “all black, brown, and Indigenous” people against travelling through Melbourne Airport amid claims he suffered race-based harassment.
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American comedian and actor Eric André claims he was racially profiled, harassed and “sniffed thoroughly by a dog” at Melbourne Airport in a “cockamamie procedure” that made him feel unsafe.
The Emmy-nominated comedian, who has 2.9m followers on Instagram, took to social media on Tuesday to warn other people of colour against travelling through Melbourne Airport.
“It’s one of the many times I’ve been racially profiled at the airport,” he said.
“So, this is a message for all black, brown, and Indigenous people travelling through Melbourne today, especially if you’re travelling through Qantas International by Terminal 2 — Please be careful.”
André, 41, said he had just been through a 25-hour trip, flying from New York to his final destination in Brisbane, when he “got pulled out of a line-up,” while going through security in Melbourne.
He said he was “put in a special line” where he was “sniffed thoroughly by a dog.”
Andre is currently in Australia touring The Eric Andre Show Live across the east coast.
He said that after the experience, he expected any future clients hoping to bring him to Australia to route his travel through alternative airports, and to provide some kind of security escort to ensure his safety.
“I do not feel safe in the Melbourne Airport. I do not want to be humiliated or racially discriminated against anymore at these airports,” he said.
“I don’t want to cut my hair and wear a three-piece suit so that I’m treated like a first-class citizen. I shouldn’t be made to feel that I am unaccented by entering a country.
“Shame on the people at the Melbourne Airport that have this cockamamie procedure. I doubt it yields any safer world for anybody in Melbourne or Australia.”
He likened the practice to former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani’s controversial “stop-and-frisk-esque nonsense program,” a once-widespread practice that allowed police officers to stop residents for what they deemed ‘suspicious’ behaviour.“
André asked his followers to send him the Melbourne Airport complaints line and the contact details for any Australian discrimination lawyers in response to the incident.
He also asked them to send him statistics on how many “people of colour they put into this dog-sniffing line” in comparison to white passengers.
Andre is best known as the creator, host, and co-writer of the Adult Swim surreal comedy series The Eric Andre Show.
His other notable roles include Mike on the FXX comedy series Man Seeking Woman, Luci on the Netflix series Disenchantment, and the voice of Azizi in the remake of The Lion King. He also performs music under the stage name Blarf.
Melbourne Airport commented on Andre’s Instagram post, saying they were following up on the complaint with the Australian Border Force and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
“Melbourne Airport is proudly the gateway to one of the most multicultural cities in the world …. We welcome ALL passengers to Melbourne, and we expect everyone to be treated equally,” the airport said.
It said it did not tolerate racism in any form.
Australian Border Force said it had confirmed it was not one of their dogs Andre was sniffed by, adding “we hope your stay in Australia is wonderful”.
Andre’s claims of race-based harassment come as one of China’s leading privately-owned airlines announced plans to launch direct flights between Melbourne Airport and Shanghai from December.
Juneyao Airlines will operate a base schedule of three weekly flights from Melbourne Airport from 19 December, increasing to a peak season daily service for January and February.
The new flights will mark the first time Juneyao Airlines has flown to Australia and will operate using the airline’s flagship Boeing 787-9, which features 324 seats, including 29 lie-flat business class seats.
Juneyao Airlines’ arrival will put Melbourne Airport’s mainland Chinese seat capacity above pre-pandemic levels.
The airline will join a list of global world class airlines including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines that chose Melbourne as their launch destination for Australian services.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said the arrival of Juneyao Airlines underscored the need for ongoing investment in the international terminal and new airfield infrastructure.
“We are thrilled to welcome Juneyao Airlines to Melbourne and look forward to working with them to make this service a success,” she said.
“Choosing Melbourne as their first Australian destination is an incredible vote of confidence in Victoria, and Juneyao Airlines’ quality service and extra cargo capacity will help further strengthen ties with China.
“Melbourne Airport will now be served by more international carriers than ever before, and with the average daily international flight worth $154 million to the Victorian economy, it highlights the need for our investment in projects such as the international terminal upgrades and three-billion-dollar third runway.
“The third runway will ensure the airport is not capacity constrained in the future, so our existing airlines can grow and new players can enter the market, which means more choice for travellers.”
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