A video of retired UFC star Khabib
Nurmagomedov being escorted off an Alaska Airlines flight has gone
viral.It appears staff reported feeling ‘uncomfortable’ with his apparent
grasp of English as he sat in an exit row seat where he would need
to assist in an emergency. pic.twitter.com/Bf7S7jLji6— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)
January 12, 2025
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Frontier Airlines has released its side of the story regarding an
incident where
UFC Hall of Famer Khabib
Nurmagomedov was
removed from one of its flights over the weekend.
On Sunday, video surfaced of Nurmagomedov having an argument with a
flight attendant about his seat on the exit row. The source of the
disagreement appeared to be regarding Nurmagomedov’s ability to
assist others in the event of an emergency. Though Nurmagomedov
left the plane without incident, it prompted the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to call for an investigation into
potential racial and religious profiling of the UFC veteran.
Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, claimed that staff member was “very rude”
and insisted on removing him from his seat even though he agreed to
the conditions that accompaned his seat. The former lightweight
champion was eventually able to board another plane and make it to
his destination.
Frontier Airlines released a statement on Monday addressing the
situation. The airline claims that the video released didn’t
accurately depict everything that happened between Nurmagomedov and
staff on hand.
“On Jan. 11, 2025, as flight 4401 from Las Vegas to San Francisco
was preparing for departure, a flight attendant initiated the
customary briefing for exit row passengers,” Frontier’s statement
read. “Customer Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was seated in an exit row,
was asked multiple times if he was willing and able to assist in
the event of an emergency. According to the flight attendant, Mr.
Nurmagomedov did not respond, despite repeated attempts, which
placed him in non-compliance with FAA requirements. The flight
attendant informed Mr. Nurmagomedov that he could be moved to a
different upgraded seat or exit the plane.
“Videos circulating on social media platforms do not capture this
interaction, and instead show a subsequent interaction after a gate
agent entered the plane and reiterated the option to be reseated.
As a result of the customer’s initial unresponsiveness and repeated
declinations of a seat change, he was asked to deplane per airline
and FAA policy. The decision to deplane the customer was in no way
related to his ethnicity, and we have refunded him and his
traveling companions for their flights.”
Nurmagomedov is expected to be on hand to corner Islam
Makhachev and Umar
Nurmagomedov for their respective fights at UFC 311
on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.