Passenger banned from plane after pushing in front of crew

Bobby Abtahi prevented from boarding Virgin America flight after cutting off crew member at revolving door

Vice President Joe Biden said to travel from La Guardia was like braving the Third World (Getty Images)

A passenger was banned from flying on a plane after pushing in front of a crew member at the airport.

Bobby Abtahi, a lawyer from Texas, was prevented from boarding a Virgin America flight home from New York’s La Guardia airport.

Mr Abtahi, who was returning from a holiday in Bermuda with his wife to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, was told by an airline official that the captain and crew didn’t "feel comfortable" with having him on board.

When asked to elaborate, the official cited an encounter between Mr Abtahi and the crew member at a revolving door, where Mr Abtahi is said to have cut off the crew member as they arrived at the airport.

Despite offering to apologise, Mr Abtahi was forced to cancel his flight, Virgin Atlantic flight 885, he wrote on Twitter, and rebook with another airline. His tweet contained a nod to Ashton Kutcher, creator of the Candid Camera-style practical joke TV show, Punk'd.

The following day, Mr Abtahi reported Virgin America apologised for barring him from the flight, which the airline said was “the result of a misunderstanding”.

Mr Abtahi told the Dallas Morning News: "She said I cut in front of a flight attendant on my way inside the airport and that they didn’t feel comfortable with me on the flight.

"I said if that was the case then I would apologise. She went back on the phone and said I wasn’t allowed on the flight."

David Arnold, a spokesman for Virgin America, told the New York Times: “As an airline that prides itself on our award-winning guest service, we take issues like this very seriously.

"We are sorry Mr. Abtahi had this experience today, as it was not representative of the guest service for which we are known."

They awarded Mr Abtahi, who accepted the apology, reimbursement for the cost of the flight and two free flights – which Mr Abtahi asked them to give to a charity in Dallas that helps refugees fleeing abuse.

Mr Abtahi, an Iranian-American who works for Dallas City Council’s planning authority, told the NYT he hoped he had not been picked out because of his ethnicity, though he said he had discussed exactly this possibility with his wife beforehand because he had not shaved for a week while away.

He added that he had thought nothing of the incident at the time, and that crew should be given less discretion to summarily bar people from flights.

He said: "We have all these regulations around flying and safety, and that seems the most subjective one... I’m not acting crazy. I haven’t been drinking. I’m just standing."