Chick-fil-A has been banned from a second airport following a report that the fast food chain donated nearly $2 million to anti-LGBTQ organizations in 2017.
Hospitality company Delaware North and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority have canceled plans to include Chick-fil-A at Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Buffalo, New York after recently surfaced 2017 tax records showed that the chain donated $1.8 million to three separate charities with long histories of LGBTQ discrimination.
Videos by PopCulture.com
According to WKBW, the chicken chain had been slated to be included in a new restaurant area at the airport, but the notion was reconsidered after assemblyman Sean Ryan questioned the decision given Chick-fil-A’s “long history of supporting and funding anti-LGBTQ organizations.”
On Friday it was announced that the decision had been made to exclude the chain from the vendor lineup.
“Earlier today I spoke with the vendor of the Buffalo Airport food court project, and they informed me they will not be opening a Chick-fil-A as a part of their airport project,” Ryan said in a statement. “A publicly financed facility like the Buffalo Niagara International Airport is not the appropriate venue for a Chick-fil-A restaurant. I applaud the decision that has been made to remove Chick-fil-A from the plans for this project.”
“We hope in the future the NFTA will make every effort to contract with businesses that adhere to anti-discriminatory policies, and we’re confident another vendor who better represents the values of the Western New York community will replace Chick-fil-A as a part of this project in the very near future,” the statement concluded.
The news come just a week after the San Antonio International Airport banned the chain from its concessions lineup. In a 6-4 vote, the San Antonio City Council decided to only pass a seven-year contract with Paradies Lagardère should the chicken chain be excluded from the list of new restaurants to open in the airport.
The council stated that the decision “reaffirmed the work our city has done to become a champion of equality and inclusion” and that San Antonio did not “have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.”
The action has prompted calls for an investigation into the ban, with legal group First Liberty Institute issuing a letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao alleging that San Antonio City Council members may have engaged in “religious discrimination” in their decision.
In response to the reports, Chick-fil-A released a statement claiming that the news was portraying an “inaccurate narrative” about the chain.
“Recent coverage about Chick-fil-A continues to drive an inaccurate narrative about our brand. We do not have a political or social agenda or discriminate against any group. More than 145,000 people from different backgrounds and beliefs represent the Chick-fil-A brand. We embrace all people, regardless of religion, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity.”
