Armed police haul four pals off flight to Turkey for ‘repeatedly playing bomb track on phone’
The group, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, deny the accusations, saying they were targeted because they are 'bearded Asians'
ARMED cops dragged four pals off a holiday flight to Turkey for playing a song repeatedly featuring the word 'bomb', it is claimed.
The incident occurred after the September 24 flight from Manchester Airport to Dalaman, Turkey, had landed at its destination.
Four heavily armed Turkish cops boarded the aircraft after it touched down on the runway and removed the group from their seats.
Nabeal Iqbal, 19, Hammad Ahmed, 21, Shabad Niaz, 23, and Tasiq Ali, 18, deny the accusations and claim they were targeted because they are "bearded Asians".
Thomas Cook Airlines said the group from Oldham, Greater Manchester, had been "extremely disruptive" and another passenger complained they played the "bomb" track on a mobile phone.
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Nabeal, however, told the they never uttered the word bomb and the entire ordeal was embarrassing.
He said: "I would never say anything like that on a plane. You could say we were a bit loud. We were having a laugh and a joke with people around us.
"As we were taken off, the cabin crew manager said: 'I can't believe you have said bomb on a plane, it's disgusting and you will never fly with Thomas Cook again'."
He added that he believed the group of four was thrown off because they were "bearded Asians".
A spokesperson for Thomas Cook Airlines said "Four individuals were extremely disruptive throughout this flight and were refused carriage on the basis of their abusive behaviour.
"We do not tolerate such severely disruptive behaviour towards our crew or passengers and their collective and sustained actions were entirely unacceptable."
They were prevented from boarding their return flight six days later, and slept the night on the beach before booking a new return via Pegasus Airlines.
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