Khabib Nurmagomedov 'racism' row: What are emergency exit seats on airplanes and why are they special explained

A row erupted after former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov alleged that he was subjected to racial profiling and removed from a flight in the United States of America on Sunday. The MMA legend called out the Frontier Airlines on X (formerly Twitter) after a video of the incident went viral on social media.

According to Khabib, a Frontier Airlines staff was rude to him on January 12 from the moment he boarded the flight although he wasn't sure why.

The viral videos captured the conversation between a flight attendant and Khabib where the former asked the Russian to opt between switching seats or exiting the aircraft. The fighter disagreed to exchange his seat and called it ‘unfair’. According to reports, Khabib Nurmagomedov wanted to reach California for UFC 311, where Islam Makhachev and his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov were in action.

When Khabib protested that he can manage English, the lady staff was heard saying, "it is not about language, Sir." She inisted that as long as her flight attendants were not "allowing" him to occupy the exit row seat, he either has to switch or deboard the plane so that they can "rebook" him another flight to his destination.

Khabib Nurmagomedov's X post

“First of all, I need to clarify that it was Fly Frontier, not AlaskaAir. Lady who comes to me with questions was very rude from the very beginning, even though I speak very decent English and can understand everything and agreed to assist, she still insists on removing me from my seat. What was the base for that, racial, national or other one, I’m not sure,” Khabib wrote on X.

“But after 2 minutes of conversation, she called security and I was deplaned from this aircraft, after 1.5 hours I boarded another airline and left for my destination. I did my best to stay calm and respectful, as you can see on the video. But those crew members could do better next time and just be nice with clients,” the former UFC champion concluded.

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Among the people who expressed solidarity to Khabib was former Lightweight title contender Michael Chandler “Can you imagine, an emergency happens on your plane and you would prefer a ‘perfect’ speaking human instead of one of the greatest athletes of all time because you’re ‘uncomfortable’ with his ability to speak English(which is very good, btw) - this is bizarre. Not only was he the most physically capable human being on the plane but I’m pretty sure the ONLY qualification to sitting in the exit row is being able to say the word yes,” he wrote on X.

"Legendary Dagestani and @ufc athlete Khabib Nurmagomedov was subjected to blatant racial profiling and removed from his @FlyFrontier flight after being deemed ‘unfit’ to sit in the emergency exit row. @TeamKhabib , I’m sorry you experienced this, especially in the USA.  Frontier Airlines, your organization and crew should be ashamed—do better!," another user who shared the viral video wrote on X.

Emergency exit seats on airplanes: What makes them special?

An exit row is the row of seats on an aeroplane that is next to the emergency exit. A passenger sitting in an exit-row seat has the incredibly important responsibility of operating the emergency exit in case of an emergency. 

Flight attendants are required to brief exit-row passengers about how to do this properly. Typically located around the wing area or in rows just before the exits, these seats provile ample leg space comfort for the fliers although they need to be physically fit so that they could assist the crew to open it in case of an emergency. Thus, many airlines insist passengers occupying these seats to be at least 15 years old and in good physical condition. 

 It is alleged that the crew of the flight that Khabib boarded was not confident that he would be able to operate the door in case of an emergency. It can be assumed that Khabib, being a Russian, might face a language barrier and fail to follow instructions in case of an emergency.