Muslims thrown off flight

Cops marched four Asian men off a plane after a passenger said their behaviour made him nervous. The men – in Islamic robes – were arguing in a foreign language and then all went to the toilet, one after the other. A fellow traveller on the Luton to Glasgow easyJet flight demanded they be kicked off – just as the plane was to taxi to the runway. Cabin crew alerted the captain and cops were called, who took the men, all in their 20s, off the plane.

Everyone else on board was then ordered off with their hand luggage while the crew searched the cabin. The jet took off an hour and ten minutes late at 10pm on Wednesday.

Another passenger said: “A Scottish bloke in his 20s who was sat beside them clearly thought something was up. He was arguing strongly that these lads were up to no good and should be taken off. Considering they had just got on a minute before, their behaviour was pretty bizarre. I think other people were worried. The men were all wearing jackets over long Islamic robes. They had beards and looked like Muslims.”

The Sun, 10 November 2006