Delta Airlines is blaming YouTube star Adam Saleh and his friend for a disruption aboard a flight from London to New York on Wednesday, after the two men claimed they were kicked off for speaking Arabic.
In a video shared on Twitter, Saleh claimed he and his friend were booted from the flight for speaking Arabic to each other and while he was on the phone with his mother. Saleh said other passengers complained that they were uncomfortable with hearing another language and that’s why he and his friend were removed from the plane.
Saleh’s video went viral on Wednesday, garnering hundreds of thousands of views and spurring countless outraged commenters to offer their support to him. In response, Delta Airlines posted a statement online saying the company is looking into the matter.
On Wednesday evening, the airline released an updated statement. It said the flight crew was debriefed upon landing and they collected multiple passenger statements regarding the incident.
“Based on the information collected to date, it appears the customers who were removed sought to disrupt the cabin with provocative behavior, including shouting,” the statement said. “This type of conduct is not welcome on any Delta flight.”
The statement also mentioned Saleh’s reputation as a “known prankster.” The popular YouTube star has gained notoriety for his pranks and social experiments, many of which have occurred in airports and onboard airplanes.
Delta Airlines said Saleh was filmed during the incident. They also stated that his behaviour was encouraged by his travelling companion.
“What is paramount to Delta is the safety and comfort of our passengers and employees. It is clear these individuals sought to violate that priority,” the statement said.
A passenger claiming to have witnessed the disturbance posted an account of what happened to Reddit on Wednesday that appears to corroborate the airline’s version of events.
The Reddit user with the handle Chain187 said they were seated two seats away from Saleh and his companion aboard the flight. They wrote that Saleh goaded his friend to shout in Arabic multiple times and that they were filming other passengers to record their reactions. The user also wrote that they never heard Saleh or his friend speaking on a phone in Arabic.
Saleh posted a statement on Twitter after returning home to New York City on a different flight.
“Delta has been called out previously for racial matters. What they did was wrong and we deserve to speak up about this and not let this happen again,” Saleh wrote. “Yes, we're pranksters, and it sounds like ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’, but today you can clearly see it’s as real as it gets."
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
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