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'Disgusted': Boxer Amir Khan fumes after being removed from US flight

Amir Khan. - PA
Amir Khan. - PA

British boxer Amir Khan claimed he was "kicked off" a flight in the US "for no reason" following a reported row over face coverings.

Mr Khan, 34, said he found it "disgusting" and "disrespectful" that he and a colleague had been escorted from an American Airlines plane when someone complained his friend's mask "was not high enough". The two had been trying to fly to a training camp in Colorado.

The airline said the flight from Newark Airport to Dallas-Fort Worth returned to the gate after two people "reportedly refused to comply with repeated crew member requests to stow luggage, place cell phones in airplane mode and adhere to federal face covering requirements".

The former light-welterweight world champion posted a video on Twitter expressing his anger at the alleged treatment. "I was taken off the plane today when I was going to training camp to Colorado Springs by the police," the sportsman said.

"Obviously a complaint was made by American Airlines staff, they said that my colleague’s mask was not high enough and not up, that they had to stop the plane and take me and my friend off when I did nothing wrong.

"They kicked us both off, I was sat on 1A, he was sat on 1B – I find it so disgusting and so disrespectful, I was supposed to go to Colorado springs for a training camp and now I’m back in New York for another day.

He continued: "Now I have to reschedule another airplane to travel back to training camp which is really upsetting, for no reason this was and I’m just so disgusted that American Airlines would do this to us and ban me from travelling.

"I’m sure there must be cameras on the airplane that they could see, or someone should see, to see that if my colleague really was bad in anyway or caused a scene in a way where he had to be taken off the plane – I’ve never seen this happen before."

A spokesman for the airline said: "Our customer relations team is reaching out to Mr Khan to learn more about his experience and reinforce the importance of policies implemented for the safety of our customers and crew."

The airline added that police did not intervene but were present when the aircraft returned to the gate, as is protocol. It added that neither Khan nor his colleague has been banned.