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Airline issues statement after YouTube star Adam Saleh taken off fight for speaking in Arabic

Dubai - The passengers 'felt uncomfortable' when they heard speak to his mother in Arabic.

By Web Report

Published: Thu 22 Dec 2016, 7:08 PM

YouTube star Adam Saleh was taken off a Delta Air Lines flight after he spoke to his mother on the phone in Arabic, Saleh said in a video he posted on social media.

The 23-year-old, who runs a YouTube vlog with 1.7 million subscribers, uploaded a video which shows him alleging that he was being taken off the plane because passengers "felt uncomfortable" when they heard him speak in Arabic.

Saleh was on a flight from London to New York with his friend Slim Albaher, another YouTube personality, who was also escorted off the plane.

"They kicked us off the plane because a lady, because a lot of people felt uncomfortable," Saleh said. "Delta Air Lines just kicked us out for speaking Arabic."

Saleh can be heard to say to fellow passengers: "Are you serious? I'm about to cry right now. You guys are racists. I cannot believe it. Because we said a word in a different language? And it's 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

Delta issued the following statement:
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. Furthermore, Delta people are trained to and frequently handle conflicts between passengers.
Maintaining a safe, comfortable and orderly onboard environment is paramount for every flight and requires the cooperation of all of our customers in conjunction with adherence to directions from our crew members. This is a Delta policy and is required by U.S. regulations as well as others governing aviation worldwide.
Two customers were removed from Delta Flight 1 departing London-Heathrow today after a disturbance in the cabin resulted in more than 20 customers expressing their discomfort.
We have spoken with the customers who were removed; they were rebooked on another flight. Plans are in place to immediately speak with our crew and other passengers when the flight lands this afternoon. We will provide an update once we have more information.