A British man is planning to sue Virgin Atlantic air lines alleging that he was removed from a flight without cause. The man, Mohammad Khan, 26, said that he was escorted from the plane – headed for Atlanta from London – after mentioning 9/11 – twice.

He told the London Evening Standard: “I totally innocently said ‘there’s been more security since 9/11’, then asked the stewardess ‘I bet your job has changed since 9/11’, but she looked stunned.”

The flight attendant informed the rest of the crew, the plane turned around on the runway and taxied back to the terminal at London Heathrow, where Mr. Khan was removed from the plane by police.

Mr. Khan, who is Muslim, is calling the incident racial and religious profiling, saying,  “I know this would not have happened if I was a white man in his 60s who had done the same thing.”

Virgin Atlantic responded by saying, “We can confirm that a passenger was escorted from flight VS103 on 8th Jan 2016 by Police after multiple customers and crew reported hearing highly inappropriate comments concerning security.

“This is not a decision we take lightly and although such security events are rare, we have a responsibility to report them to the relevant authorities to ensure the safety and security of our aircraft, customers and crew.

“Our team has been in regular contact with Mr. Khan and his lawyers, and we have offered to refund his flights.”

To read more on this story, go to The National.