Family claims they were kicked off Jetstar flight ‘for looking ethnic and being Muslim’

An Australian family kicked off a Jetstar flight claims their altercation came down to “looking ethnic”. But the airline tells a different story.

A pair of newlyweds, kicked off a Jetstar flight in Bali with 20 of their family, claim their altercation with flight attendants came down to “looking ethnic and being Muslim”.

Sarah Aslan, 23, and her husband Muhammed married in Bali late last month in a picture-perfect ceremony that cost them more than $40,000.

Sarah and her husband on their wedding day. Picture: Facebook

The couple spent thousands on their Bali wedding. Picture: Facebook

But on their way home on Monday, things took a turn for the worse when the family started feuding with the Jetstar flight attendants.

The family claims things kicked off when one wedding guest, Mike Mahmoud, questioned a flight attendant over a fault with his in-flight entertainment.

In footage obtained by Nine, Mr Mahmoud talks to one of Jetstar’s staff members.

“Is it the beard? It feels like it might be,” he says sarcastically, alluding to him being targeted because of his faith.

‘Is it the beard?’ Picture: 9 News

In response to Mr Mahmoud’s comment, another passenger asks “are you serious?”

Speaking to Nine, Mr Mahmoud maintained he started his conversation with respect.

“I really truly don’t believe I was arrogant, I just wanted to get home,” he said.

News.com.au understands the flight attendant Mr Mahmoud was speaking with was also Muslim and when he confronted her about “being racist”, she told him she was of the same faith.

Mike said he just wanted to get home. Picture: Nine

The family continued to argue with staff, other passengers claiming things became so heated the pilot eventually made the decision to turn the plane around and kick the entire family off.

News.com.au understands that while taxiing to the runway, the family became disruptive and failed to follow crew instructions.

A number of passengers also told news.com.au that the family were disruptive prior to boarding, reportedly pushing in to reach the front of the queue.

After arriving back at the terminal, more than a dozen security guards showed up to take the family off the plane, leaving them stranded at the airport at 2am.

Another family member arguing. Picture: Nine

Another video, showing the family in the terminal at Denpasar Airport, appeared to suggest one flight attendant was crying over the altercation.

“I didn’t do anything. I don’t need you to speak to me like this, do you understand?,” Mrs Aslan said.

“Where’s the lady that started this sh*t before?”

“She’s crying,” a woman responds.

“This is very racist,” Mrs Aslan bites back.

In a further interview, Mrs Aslan claims the family was “attacked” for their faith and appearance.

“Personally, it did feel like we were being attacked for looking ethnic and being Muslim,” she said.

“That’s why I started crying. I’m like, I just want to go home, I don’t want to be here anymore.”

Newlyweds Sarah and Muhammed said they were ‘attacked for looking ethnic’. Picture: 9 News

Jetstar booked them on another flight 24 hours later, at no extra cost, with the family arriving back in Melbourne on Tuesday night.

Other family members also took aim at Jetstar, claiming they were “racially, verbally and physically assaulted”.

One family member, Selim Tutunca, took to Jetstar’s Facebook page to complain about the incident while his young children slept on top of suitcases at Denpasar Airport.

“We were racially, verbally and physically assaulted by both Jetstar crew members and Bali airport officials. We have footage of all of this,” he wrote.

“We were kicked off the flight even though we hadn’t even spoke a single word to the crew members. We have been waiting for over four hours and my children are sleeping on benches at the airport.

“We weren’t accommodated by Jetstar whatsoever. We tried speaking to them and they didn’t want to know anything about us.”

But despite the family’s story, Jetstar is disputing the entire incident.

“The safety of our customers and crew is our number one priority, and we do not tolerate any kind of disruptive or abusive behaviour,” a Jetstar spokesman said.

“We take these allegations extremely seriously and are investigating the matter, however our crew dispute the claims made by these passengers.”

Muhammed and Sarah.