Two men accuse Alaska Airlines employee of racial profiling after Newark Airport evacuation

The two men who were questioned after an alarm set off at Newark Liberty Airport on Labor Day sparked panic have spoken out, saying they were racially profiled. The airport evacuated in a panic Monday night after an Alaska Airlines employee hit an alarm following an encounter with two men, officials said at the time. Han Han Xue, 29, a product designer for Lyft returning home to San Francisco after visiting friends in New York City over the long weekend, said he was "minding (his) own business" when an Alaska Airlines employee walked into him, then repeatedly asked Chunyi Luo, 20, a student who was standing near Xue but did not know him, if he was nervous. Luo told the employee he was nervous because his flight back to college in San Francisco was late. She asked Xue if he knew Luo and wondered why he was "acting suspiciously," both men noted. Xue added that she asked more questions, like "How much are they paying you?" and "Did they give you a visa?" He didn't know who "they" referred to or how to respond, he said, and began to walk away, feeling racially targeted and harassed. At that point, Xue said, the airline employee followed him to where other passengers waiting to board the flight and said, "I'm onto you guys. The cops are already called." “Alaska Airlines values the safety of our guests as our highest priority," the airline said Tuesday in an emailed statement. "We’re conducting a thorough investigation to determine what occurred."<br/>