Delta Air Lines Inc removed two men from a plane at London's Heathrow Airport before take-off on Wednesday, allegedly after passenger complaints that one of the men had been speaking on a phone in Arabic.
One of the men, YouTube star Adam Saleh, a Muslim American, appeared in a Twitter video on the incident, which has been retweeted more than 440,000 times.
Speaking from the plane, he said: “We’re getting kicked out because we spoke a different language . . . Six white people against us bearded men.”
We got kicked out of a @Delta airplane because I spoke Arabic to my mom on the phone and with my friend slim... WTFFFFFFFF please spread pic.twitter.com/P5dQCE0qos
— Adam Saleh (@omgAdamSaleh) December 21, 2016
It was not immediately clear what took place before the recording began.
Saleh has posted what he calls “experiment” videos in the past, showing him speaking Arabic on planes.
Statement
In a statement, Delta said two customers were removed from Delta Flight 1 after a disturbance in the cabin prompted more than 20 customers to express their discomfort.
The airline said it spoke to the two passengers it removed and rebooked them.
Delta said it would speak with the crew and other passengers when the flight landed at New York’s JFK Airport on Wednesday afternoon.
It said the airline had an obligation to ensure a safe environment for passengers and promised an update once it had more information.
“We take all allegations of discrimination seriously and we are gathering all of the facts before jumping to any conclusion.
“Our culture requires treating everyone with respect,” the statement said.
Airlines have in recent months battled negative publicity following incidents in which Muslim passengers were removed from flights.
Reuters