Frontier Airways has now addressed the viral video exhibiting retired UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov being faraway from a flight over his seat in an exit row throughout a current journey from Las Vegas to San Francisco.
The incident captured by one other passenger, and launched on social media, confirmed a flight attendant asking Nurmagomedov to vary seats as a result of the employees on the flight had been “not comfy” with him sitting in an exit row. The altercation ended with Nurmagomedov deboarding the flight after the flight attendant instructed him “you’ll be able to both take a distinct seat or we will go forward and escort you off the aircraft.”
On Monday, Frontier Airways issued an announcement to MMA Preventing addressing the altercation whereas denying that Nurmagomedov was singled out attributable to his ethnicity. Learn the complete assertion beneath:
“On Jan. 11, 2025, as flight 4401 from Las Vegas to San Francisco was getting ready for departure, a flight attendant initiated the customary briefing for exit row passengers. Buyer Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was seated in an exit row, was requested a number of instances if he was prepared and capable of help within the occasion of an emergency. In line with the flight attendant, Mr. Nurmagomedov didn’t reply, regardless of repeated makes an attempt, which positioned him in non-compliance with FAA necessities. The flight attendant knowledgeable Mr. Nurmagomedov that he might be moved to a distinct upgraded seat or exit the aircraft.
“Movies circulating on social media platforms don’t seize this interplay, and as an alternative present a subsequent interplay after a gate agent entered the aircraft and reiterated the choice to be reseated. Because of the shopper’s preliminary unresponsiveness and repeated declinations of a seat change, he was requested to deplane per airline and FAA coverage. The choice to deplane the shopper was under no circumstances associated to his ethnicity and we now have refunded him and his touring companions for his or her flights.”
After video of the incident went public, Nurmagomedov issued an announcement of his personal after he was faraway from the flight and claimed that the flight attendant talking to him was “very impolite” from the beginning.
“I did my greatest to remain calm and respectful as you’ll be able to see on the video,” Nurmagomedov stated. “However these crew members may do higher subsequent time and simply be good with shoppers.”
Whereas Frontier Airways denies that Nurmagomedov’s ethnicity performed any position in his removing from the flight, the Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded an investigation into the scenario.
“We name on Frontier and the U.S. Division of Transportation to swiftly and transparently examine this incident to find out precisely what occurred on this flight and why athlete and Muslim advocate Khabib Nurmagomedov was handled this fashion and whether or not spiritual or racial profiling performed a task in his therapy,” CAIR Nationwide Government Director Nihad Awad stated in an announcement.
“Given how typically incidents of racial and spiritual profiling happen on airways, particularly in opposition to vacationers who’re noticeably Muslim, [Frontier Airlines] also needs to publicly launch the outcomes of its investigation and take applicable motion to handle any misconduct or errors by its employees.”
Based mostly on the assertion from Frontier Airways, it seems there’s no plans for an investigation with Nurmagomedov being refunded for his flight after he was faraway from the aircraft.
