Five other Black male passengers were also asked to leave the plane, a press statement said, adding, “As the plaintiffs began to comply with the directive to deplane, they noticed that the only* *passengers who were being ordered off the plane were Black men, and it appeared that every Black man on the flight was being removed.”

After the men were removed from the plane, they were allegedly told by an American representative that they would not be allowed to fly on the flight and would have to rebook their trip. Upon asking for an explanation, the men were told that they were removed because a white male flight attendant had complained about an unidentified passenger’s body, according to the lawsuit.

“Notably, at no time did anyone accuse any of the plaintiffs of having offensive body odor,” the press statement said.

When the plaintiffs pointed out that it appeared they were being racially targeted, at least one American representative allegedly said that she did “not disagree”.