YouTube star says he was pulled off Delta flight

Man known for pranks says he was speaking Arabic.

A YouTube star known for pranks and hoaxing says he was removed from a Delta Air Lines flight after speaking Arabic.

On social media, Adam Saleh described the incident on Delta Flight 1 from London Heathrow Airport to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

“We got kicked out of a @Delta airplane because I spoke Arabic to my mom on the phone,” Saleh wrote.

Traveling with friend Slim Albaher, also a YouTube personality, Saleh started videotaping from the plane as workers approached them. “We spoke a different language and now we’re getting kicked out.”

Some passengers waved and shouted “bye” from their seats. In one tweet, Saleh called for a boycott of Delta.

Delta said Wednesday that two customers were removed from the flight “after a disturbance in the cabin resulted in more than 20 customers expressing their discomfort.”

According to a statement released from Delta, “...it appears the customers who were removed sought to disrupt the cabin with provocative behavior, including shouting. This type of conduct is not welcome on any Delta flight . ... 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.”

It’s yet to be seen how the incident fits in with the prank videos Saleh is known for.

Saleh later tweeted that he was “on another flight with a different airline heading to NYC after being checked for 30 minutes.”

Past incidents of Muslims being removed from flights have generated debate over security and discrimination.

“The issue of airline profiling of Muslims and those perceived to be Muslims is of great concern to us,” said Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper. “There have been fairly regular reports of airline profiling to our offices around the country .... We just aren’t sure at this point if this incident is representative of that phenomenon.”

Saleh’s videos on YouTube depict various pranks and “experiments.”

Two years ago, Saleh apologized for a “re-enactment” of racial profiling in a video, which triggered media coverage and reactions by some who thought it was real.

In response to the Delta disturbance, Hooper said: “Quite frankly, based on the past history of the individual reporting, we just want to make sure we have the facts straight before we make any individual judgment.”

The incident sparked renewed discussion on security and racial discrimination.

“There are legitimate fears that people have about their own personal safety,” Hooper said. “But they should react to those fears not with stereotyping and prejudice, but with actions that actually make people more secure. And kicking someone off a flight allegedly because they spoke another language is not the way to go.”