USA: Passengers Cause Delay Of Flight Because They Are Scared Of Arabic Speaking Passengers

Trying to leave Chicago after visiting family, they were stopped at the gate and told apologetically by a gate agent they weren't allowed on board.

Maher Khalil emigrated from Palestine 15 years ago and was chatting with a friend while waiting to board his flight. Others chastised the passengers who said they were uncomfortable with the two men boarding the plane.

They were about to board a Southwest flight home to Philadelphia when a gate agent told them they wouldn't be allowed to board because another passenger was afraid after hearing them speaking Arabic, according to the report. He says he had never experienced discrimination before Wednesday's incident at Midway worldwide Airport.

"If that person doesn't feel safe, let them take the bus", Khalil reportedly told the crew.

"I didn't know what to do, so I called the cops", said Mr Khalil.

Southwest Airlines Co. said the flight departed 10 minutes late after a disagreement with two customers.

The airline added its employees are trained to address "passenger situations" to ensure the safety of flights. This led to an investigation into Israel-raised, US-citizen Yaniv Abotbul, whose five hour interrogation "revealed no actual threat was made to the flight", according to his lawyer.

The airline has faced criticism on Twitter, with many suggesting boycotting Southwest after the incidents.

Also at Chicago's Midway Wednesday, six men identified by fellow passengers as being of Middle Eastern descent were removed from a Southwest flight bound for Houston after they asked people around them to switch seats, causing a commotion.USA

Those passengers who made the complaints may have been especially fearful in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris and the downing of a Russian carrier jet in Egypt, for which the Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility.