They weren't drunk, nor were they fresh from a big sports victory. These Russians were kicked off their flight, they say, just for speaking Russian.
The six were headed to an anniversary party in Las Vegas last Thursday, reports 10News, when an airline worker aboard their Spirit Airlines flight approached them prior to the plane's departure and escorted them off the plane.
"He just said, 'This row needs to get up and leave now,'" said Sana Bitman, one of the passengers removed from the flight. "It was humiliating to be treated that way."
Airline employees maintain the group had been talking too loud and ignored requests for them to lower their voices, though the Russians say they never heard any warnings.
Per Voice of Russia, they say they were speaking at a normal volume. A separate employee later indicated the stewardesses may have been intimidated by the group speaking a different language.
The group was given a full refund, notes CBS Las Vegas, though they missed their party in Las Vegas.
UPDATE: Sunday, 3:00 p.m. -- A Spirit Airlines spokesperson issued the following statement to The Huffington Post regarding the incident:
We are conducting a complete review and reaching out to the customers. Our preliminary review shows that the customers were asked to deplane for loud and disruptive behavior.
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