Two imams say they were booted from a flight to Charlotte, N.C. after a Delta employee informed them that the pilot refused to fly with them on board.
Masudur Rahman and Mohamed Zaghloul told WCNC that they were scheduled to travel on a Friday morning Delta flight, run by a subsidiary Atlantic Southeast Airlines, from Memphis to Charlotte to attend a conference.
The two were both wearing long shirts and beards to keep in tradition with Islam and were screened twice - once in the security line and again at the gate - before they boarded the flight.
The trouble came when the plane began taxiing. The pilot became alarmed and went back to the gate.
The two men were removed from the plane and screened for a third time, they told the television station.
The imams said they didn't mind because they were in favor of stringent security measures.
"We were very cooperative," Rahmar said. "I say, 'It is okay.' They checked our luggage. They checked everything."
But when Rahman and Zaghloul attempted to board the plane again, an airline employee informed them that the pilot still refused to fly with them, according to the imams.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines, said in a statement that the two were given an opportunity to get on a different flight.
"Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight 5452 from Memphis to Charlotte returned to the gate to allow for additional screening of a passenger and the passenger's companion," the airline said in a statement to CNN. "We take security and safety very seriously, and the event is currently under investigation."
A lawyer for the two men said he was looking into a possible lawsuit - but his clients really just wanted additional sensitivity training for the pilot.
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