Masoud Sharif withstood jail and torture during Iran's Islamic revolution, but he couldn't withstand the charms of Cape Town. The United Airlines service director called in sick for a shift he was due to work during a 19-day holiday in the Mother City and he was told he was likely to be discharged after 24 years of service.He opted for retirement, but took the company to court for age discrimination.But last week he lost his case before the US appeal courts.On his return to Dulles Airport in Washington, Sharif blamed the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and a Lufthansa strike for his failure to find a flight home for his shift in March 2014. He said this led to a panic attack, which was why he 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."Around 2009 Sharif requested intermittent [medical] leave as necessary to manage his anxiety," he said."United Airlines approved his request, allowing him to take leave once a month for one to five days as necessary."The airline told the appeal court Sharif had taken sick leave fraudulently and 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."Discharge is not disproportionate to the offence of misrepresentation and fraud," they said...