A video is going viral on social media showing former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov seemingly being wrongfully removed from a Frontier Airlines flight traveling from Denver to Los Angeles.
@aljazeeraenglish A video of UFC champion #Khabib Nurmagomedov being escorted off an American airline has gone viral. It appears air stewards reported feeling ‘uncomfortable’ with his apparent grasp of English as he sat in an exit row seat where he would need to assist in case of an emergency. #news ♬ original sound – Al Jazeera English
Here’s a transcript of the exchange:
Nurmagomedov: I know the language, and I know the [situation].
Frontier Airlines employee: It’s not about the language.
Nurmagomedov: I know how to help people. And now you guys, because this woman doesn’t understand what she’s talking about.
Frontier Airlines employee: Okay, what we’re going to do is either switch your seat because my flight attendants are not allowing you to sit in the exit row, or you’re going to have to get off the plane, and we will rebook you.
Nurmagomedov: Because of what?
Frontier Airlines employee: Because they’re not comfortable with you sitting in the emergency exit row.
Nurmagomedov: Who’s not comfortable?
Frontier Airlines employee: My flight attendants.
Nurmagomedov: It’s not fair.
Frontier Airlines employee: It is fair.
Nurmagomedov: It’s not fair.
Frontier Airlines employee: Yes, it is. You guys…
Nurmagomedov: When I was checking in, they asked me if I know English. Yes, I said yes.
Frontier Airlines employee: I understand that, but it’s also based on their judgment. I’m not going to do this back and forth. I’ll call a supervisor. You can either take a different seat, or we can go ahead and escort you off the plane. Which one are we doing?
Nurmagomedov: I’d like to sit here.
Frontier Airlines employee: Okay, I’ll call a supervisor, and then we’re going to have to rebook you for a different flight.
Following this, Nurmagomedov gets up and walks off the plane with a supervisor wearing a yellow vest.
Public Reaction to the Incident
After watching the video, many viewers felt sympathy for Nurmagomedov, as he clearly speaks English and remained calm throughout the entire ordeal. Some of the most popular comments include:
- @Suna: “Not once did he say ‘do you know who I am?’ God bless Khabib and his humbleness. So composed.”
- @adamwaits: “Khabib is EXACTLY who I want sitting next to the emergency exit. He is a competent individual who performs well under pressure.”
- @McNutty: “Not a good look for the airline…”
- @anonymous99696: “100% discrimination.”
- @padz: “That’s not fair. They removed him because someone is not comfortable with him. That’s discrimination!”
- @floppafloppin: “He’s the strongest dude with the fastest reflexes on the plane, he’s probably the best guy to be sitting there.”
While these comments express valid sympathy, the issue here is that we don’t have full context about what happened initially. Some reports suggest that Nurmagomedov was “wholly non-responsive to the first flight attendant’s questions about performing exit row duties.” The flight attendant apparently asked three times whether Nurmagomedov speaks English, and there was no response.
This is the only reasonable explanation for his removal from the exit row. It’s unclear whether Nurmagomedov had earbuds in or was simply ignoring the flight attendant, but this could lead to removal from the emergency row. I’ve seen similar incidents occur, often when a passenger has difficulty understanding English, is hard of hearing, or isn’t physically able to operate an emergency door.
Once the second Frontier Airlines employee arrived (it’s unclear whether she was the purser or the captain), she should have recognized that Nurmagomedov was fully capable of performing exit row duties. The situation seemed to stem more from a power struggle with the original flight attendant, who likely felt disrespected.
This incident also reminded me of a similar one last year with JetBlue, where a passenger with earbuds in was trying to sleep before takeoff, which didn’t end well. Here’s the video and backstory.
As I wrote in that post, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that the flight crew, especially the pilot, has all the power on an aircraft. They can remove passengers at their discretion. Sometimes, you need to accommodate them, as if you’re trying to get your driver’s license for the first time at the DMV.”
