Six passengers are suing American Airlines alleging racial discrimination after they were booted off a flight at LAX.
The incident started just before takeoff when staff invited passengers to change seats. As numerous people began swapping seats, a member of the airline stopped just one man -- Elgin Banks -- who happens to be African American.
Five passengers stood up and protested Elgin's treatment and demanded an explanation.
After a staff member complained that Banks had raised his voice, he was told to get off the plane, and then security was called and Banks and five other passengers were removed from the plane and banned from the airline.
“They had me thinking that I really did something,” Banks told KTLA about the May 31 flight from Los Angeles to Phoenix. “I was actually going to get off the plane, but the people that stood by me said, ‘No sir. You did not do anything wrong. Do not go anywhere.'”
American Airlines called Banks to apologize, according to KTLA.
This isn't the first racial discrimination suit brought against the airline. Last year, a Killeen, Texas man sued American Airlines for racial discrimination after he claims he was kicked off a flight when he complained about the airline forcing him to move from first-class to the back of the plane to accommodate a passenger's service dog.
In January, Delta Air Lines was fined $50,000 for ordering three Muslim passengers off planes even after the airline's own security officials cleared them to travel.