Yesterday afternoon, nine Muslim passengers, including three young children were ordered off an AirTran flight going to Orlando from Reagan National Airport , after a couple of passengers thought they overheard a suspicious remark.

Headed to Florida for a religious retreat, all members of the party were US born citizens, and subsequently were cleared for travel by FBI agents, characterizing the entire incident as a big misunderstanding. However, the passengers claim AirTran refused to rebook them even after gaining clearance. With help from the FBI, they managed to book seats on another carrier, but had to pay for them.

According to Kashif Irfan, 34, one of the party removed from the plane, the incident took place when his brother, Atif, 29, and his wife wondered, which would be the safest place to sit on an airplane.

Irfan is of the opinion that his group was profiled on the basis of their appearance, as five of the six adults in the party claimed South Asian descent, were traditionally Muslim in appearance i. e. men with beards and women wearing headscarves. Irfan and his brother, an anesthesiologist and lawyer, respectively, were born in Detroit and reside in Alexandria with their families. They were travelling with their wives, a friend and Irfan's three sons, aged 7, 4 and 2.

Tad Hutcheson, AirTran spokesman defending the airline's handling of the incident, denied any wrong-doing, saying they were only following federal rules. The pilot decided to postpone the flight after the federal marshals on board the plane, had reported the incident to the airport police.

All 104 passengers were ordered off the plane for re-screening, before the flight was allowed to take-off for Orlando , two hours late and minus nine passengers.

Hutcheson says AirTran will not reimburse the passengers for the additional cost of replacement tickets on USAirways, as they already received a full refund for their AirTran fares, and could fly on any carrier, since the investigation was complete.

The Indian-American brothers, born in Detroit and raising their Muslim families in Virginia , are outraged.