Seven African-American passengers were asked to leave a Spirit Airlines flight bound at a Los Angeles airport Monday. One of the airplane passengers believes that the matter got out of hand due to racial discrimination.
Los Angeles International Airport police were called to check on the flight, where a man with a woman refused get off the plane after a double-booking incident. The flight attendant was accusing five other passengers of creating a threat. An alleged verbal dispute erupted but was settled by escorting the seven passengers off the plane, according to The Inquisitr.
Officer Rob Pedregon, spokesman for the airport police, said that only the couple was asked to move to different seats, but the other passengers started to complain about the issue and were asked to get off the plane, as well.
"They were talking about the incident and making assumptions and were asked to leave at that point," he said.
"It was just a business dispute," Pedregon added, The Los Angeles Times reported. "It was a service issue."
"[The flight attendant] was just really nasty towards him and was like, 'No, you guys need to switch,'" Alexandra Wright, one of the passengers that got kicked off, said regarding the incident, ABC News reported. "[The male passenger] politely got up and switched seats, and the flight attendant continued to make really mean, nasty remarks towards the passenger."
"...The guy was like 'No, I'm not leaving, I don't have a reason to get off this flight. I didn't do anything wrong,'" Wright added.
Spirit Airlines spokesperson Paul Berry commented on the incident.
"We are expeditiously investigating this incident," Berry said, according to the New York Daily News. "Spirit does not tolerate any form of discrimination. Our primary concern is always the safety of our customers and team members."
