WASHINGTON – A Canadian Sikh minister was asked to take off his turban at aDetroit airport during a security check despite passing through the metaldetector without any problem, prompting senior US officials to apologise,media reports have said.

Navdeep Bains, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and EconomicDevelopment, described the incident in an interview with theFrench-language paper La Presse on Thursday.

Bains was returning to Toronto after meetings with Michigan state leadersin April 2017 and had already passed through regular security checks at theDetroit Metro Airport, but because he was wearing a turban, a securityagent told him that he would have to undergo additional checks, accordingto La Presse.ADVERTISEMENT

“He told me to take off my turban. I asked him why I would have to take offmy turban when the metal detector had worked properly,” the minister said.

The US amended its travel policy in 2007, allowing Sikhs to keep turbans onwhile passing during the security inspection process.