Arman Tsarukyan reportedly thrown off flight; American Airlines responds

Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Arman Tsarukyan just cannot seem to avoid making headlines wherever he goes.

On Thursday, Russian journalist Adam Zubayraev posted a video purportedly showing Tsarukyan’s ejection from an American Airlines commercial aircraft. Per Zubayraev, he and two friends—American Airlines later noted four individuals were involved—were forced to disembark the flight before departure. The initial reason given was that Tsarukyan would not get off his phone during the takeoff procedure, despite the airline staff telling all fliers that they must disable all electronic devices or place them on airplane mode.

Tsarukyan and his team were en route from Los Angeles to Philadelphia. The fighter still plans on headlining Real American Freestyle 8, the professional wrestling organization which has gained crossover interest from athletes domestic and abroad. Tsarukyan will be wrestling Urijah Faber in their main attraction on Saturday at The Liacouras Center in “The City of Brotherly Love.” They have since hopped on a private jet, with the athlete posting a video and saying, “I hope they’re not going to kick me out of this plane.”

Safety first

Since the video of Tsarukyan’s ejection made headlines, American Airlines has released a statement regarding the incident. They provided this statement to MMA Fighting on Friday.

“On April 16, American Airlines flight 513 returned to the gate at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for customers who refused to follow federal regulations. Safety is our top priority and we expect our customers to comply with crew member instructions while on board our aircraft, which include staying seated while the aircraft is taxiing,” the airliner wrote.

Per the airline, it was not that Tsarukyan was on his phone, but rather that he or member of his crew stood around in the aisle as the plane was taxiing down the runway. Reportedly, they refused to sit down, resulting in crew having to get involved as they drove the plane back to the gate to throw them off.