Former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov kicked off plane after seating dispute – New York Post
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was booted from a flight this weekend after a disagreement with airline staff.The incident took place on Saturday on a Frontier Airlines flight departing from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and stemmed from what appeared to be a misunderstanding between Nurmagomedov and the flight attendant over the ex-UFC fighter’s ability to assist the crew in the event of an emergency since he was sitting in an emergency exit row. The nearly two-minute video starts with Nurmagomedov in the middle of a conversation with the airline staff as he tells them that “he knows how to help people.”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/Bf7S7jLji6At one point in the video, the staffer could be heard telling Nurmagomedov: “We cannot allow you to sit in the exit row.” “I am not going to do this back and forth. I’ll go call a supervisor. You can either take a different seat or we can go ahead and escort you off the plane,” she said after Nurmagomedov tried to protest. He continued to insist that he had fully complied with the flight crew. “When I was in check-in, they asked me do I know English and I say yes,” he said. “Then why you guys do this?”A supervisor was brought onto the plane and Nurmagomedov eventually left the aircraft without any further issues. A man believed to be part of his traveling party could also be seen exiting the plane after Nurmagomedov got off. Several media reports named the flight as Alaska Airlines, but a spokesperson for the airline told The Post via email that it had been “incorrectly” identified. “We have checked our records and did not have this individual on an Alaska Airlines flight that day,” the spokesperson said.Nurmagomedov addressed the incident in a post on X on Sunday evening and revealed that the airline involved was Frontier. “Lady who comes to me with questions was very rude from the very beginning, even though I speak very decent English and can understand everything and agreed to assist, she still insists on removing me from my seat. What was the base for that, racial, national or other one, I’m not sure,” he wrote. “But after 2 minutes of conversation, she called security and I was deplaned from this aircraft, after 1,5 hour I boarded another airline one and left to my destination. I did my best to stay calm and respectful as you can see on the video. But those crew members could do better next time and just be nice with clients.” Frontier Airlines did acknowledge the incident in a statement to The Post. “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. 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,” the company said. “According to the flight attendant, Mr. Nurmagomedov did not respond, despite repeated attempts, which placed him in non-compliance with FAA requirements. As a result, he was asked to move to a different upgraded seat which he refused to do. Therefore, in accordance with airline and FAA policy, he was asked to deplane. 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.”Advertisement
