Dallas Man Says He Was Kicked Off Flight Because Crew Was Uncomfortable

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DALLAS (CBS11) - Kicked off of an airplane on his way back from New York, Dallas Plan Commissioner Bobby Abtahi said he was told he could not fly on his Virgin America flight on Monday because the crew felt "uncomfortable."

The situation started with a tweet from Abtahi.

"So @VirginAmerica captain/crew didn't 'feel comfortable' with me on the flight. Wasn't allowed to board," tweeted out Abtahi.

Abtahi then referenced Ashton Kutcher who hosts MTV's prank show, "Punk'd."

The Dallas Plan Commissioner moments later tweeted out that he boarded a last-minute American Air flight.

Abtahi, who did not want to speak on camera, later clarified the Virgin America crew told him he pushed past a flight attendant on his way to his flight and was not going to get on the flight.

Virgin America later emailed the following statement: "After further review, we believe this was the result of a misunderstanding and we're reaching out to apologize to Mr. Abtahi this afternoon for his experience today. As an airline that prides itself on our award-winning guest service, we take issues like this very seriously. We are sorry Mr. Abtahi had this experience today, as it was not representative of the guest service for which we are known. To further apologize, we're offering Mr. Abtahi two free future flights on us (as well as full reimbursement for his flight today)," wrote Dave Arnold, a spokesperson.

Abtahi declined the free tickets and requested the funds be donated to charity.

"As far as I am concerned the situation is over. Virgin America has apologized for their mistake and that is good enough for me. It was an extremely bizarre situation from start to finish and I'm glad to be home in Dallas," Abtahi wrote in an email.

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