Delta (DAL) Is In Hot Water After Kicking Arabic YouTube Star Off Plane

Adam Saleh is a YouTube sensation with over a million followers. He’s known for playing funny pranks and describes himself as a “professional idiot.”

Unfortunately what happened to him on Delta airlines this week was not a prank, and a very disturbing thing to experience.

According to Saleh, he was kicked off a Delta Air Lines flight for speaking Arabic to his mother before takeoff.

Apparently other passengers felt uncomfortable by the language he spoke and his appearance.

It’s 2016, must this kind of ignorance exist?

In a statement, Delta said:

“Maintaining a safe, comfortable and orderly on board 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.”

In an interview with CBSN, Saleh said something like this had never happened to him before and that he speaks to his mom on the phone every flight. His mother only speaks Arabic.

So how did the drama start? According to Saleh, a woman in the seat in front of him turned around and told him he ought to speak English. Saleh said he told her he can speak whatever language he likes, and her husband then stood up and started yelling at him.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL) and have not been compensated for this article.