YouTube star claims he was kicked off Delta flight for speaking Arabic
Posted December 21, 2016 3:02 pm.
Last Updated December 21, 2016 3:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Delta Airlines is coming under fire after a YouTube star says he was kicked off a flight at London’s Heathrow Airport on Wednesday morning for speaking Arabic.
Adam Saleh — whose millions of YouTube subscribers follow his pranks and ruminations on Muslim life — said he and his friend and fellow YouTuber Slim Albaher were forced to leave the plane after Saleh spoke to his mom on the phone.
“We’re getting kicked out because we spoke a different language,” he said in a video of the incident posted on Twitter.
“This is 2016. 2016 … Thank you so much. You guys are racist.”
Warning: contains graphic language.
“I spoke a different language and you said you feel uncomfortable? Because I spoke a different language? I can’t believe it. I can’t believe my eyes,” Saleh continued.
“I’m about to cry right now … Six white people against us bearded men.”
Saleh said he and Albaher were placed on another flight to New York City after going through security a second time. They would be heading straight to their lawyer’s office once they landed in New York at 5:50 p.m., he added.
“Once I go back to New York, I’m not letting this slide … until the owner of Delta is right next to me in my face and I’m speaking to him,” Saleh said in another video after he was removed from the plane.
He also called the pilot a “racist douchebag.”
In the wake of the incident, the hashtag #BoycottDelta was trending on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Delta said it had launched a review of the incident. In a statement, it said the “disturbance in the cabin resulted in more than 20 customers expressing their discomfort.”
“We take all allegations of discrimination seriously and we are gathering all of the facts before jumping to any conclusion,” the statement reads.
“Our culture requires treating everyone with respect. Furthermore, Delta people are trained to and frequently handle conflicts between passengers.
“Plans are in place to immediately speak with our crew and other passengers when the flight lands this afternoon.”
