Seven people were booted off of a Spirit Airlines flight at Los Angeles International Airport Monday night because a passenger allegedly became unruly, according to airport police.
Spirit Airlines had apparently double-booked particular seats on a plane, and an argument started when a man and woman went to their assigned seats, but someone was already sitting in one of them, Los Angeles Airport Police spokesman Robert Pedregon said.
The flight attendant was going to assign the couple to different seats, but the man began to argue.
The flight attendant then told the couple that they were "just not going to fly," Pedregon said. The male passenger then allegedly became aggressive and told the attendant he was not leaving.
Police were called, but the couple left the plane without an escort. They were going to be set up at a hotel and booked on a flight the following day.
Five additional passengers on board became involved in the disagreement, and left the flight as well. The passengers said they were removed from the plane, and not given a proper explanation as to why.
Some of those passengers said the flight attendants claimed they did not feel safe with them aboard the flight.
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"We were told we had to leave the flight because we were considered a threat," passenger Ty Walker said. "We asked, 'What constitutes a threat?' We never raised our voice, we never cursed, we never did anything."
Walker questioned whether he and at least one other passenger were asked to leave because they are black.
"To be belittled, to be discriminated on, it's unacceptable," Walker said.
Spirit Airlines has not returned calls from NBC4 about the incident.
