Delta Air Lines is in the uncomfortable position of having to defend itself against charges of racism and discrimination after another incident in which passengers were removed from one of its flights. While this latest incident may prove to be a hoax, it sheds light on what seems to be a troubling pattern with the airline. 

American-born YouTube star Adam Saleh, known for his outrageous pranks on video, insists it was no stunt that he and a friend were removed from Delta Flight 1 from London to New York shortly before takeoff after other passengers heard him speaking Arabic.

"The only thing I can say is, I would never film a phone video. That's when it's really serious and I must film," he told the New York Times.

Saleh filmed himself being removed from the flight.

But Delta has issued multiple statements in less than a day about the incident, both defending itself by saying Saleh and his friend were being too loud and causing a disturbance – and against the far more serious charges that the airline is discriminatory.

“Two customers were removed from this flight and later rebooked after a disturbance in the cabin resulted in more than 20 customers expressing their discomfort. We're conducting a full review to understand what transpired,” Delta said. “We are taking allegations of discrimination very seriously; our culture requires treating others with respect.”

Later on Wednesday evening, Delta issued another statement.

“Upon landing the crew was debriefed and multiple passenger statements collected. Based on the information collected to date, it appears the customers who were removed sought to disrupt the cabin with provocative behavior, including shouting,” the airline said. “This type of conduct is not welcome on any Delta flight. While one, according to media reports, is a known prankster who was video recorded and encouraged by his traveling companion, what is paramount to Delta is the safety and comfort of our passengers and employees. It is clear these individuals sought to violate that priority.”

And for a second time, Delta defended itself.

“We take all allegations of discrimination seriously and we are gathering all of the facts before jumping to any conclusion. Our culture requires treating everyone with respect. Furthermore, Delta people are trained to and frequently handle conflicts between passengers,” the carrier noted.

And while there have been other incidents of alleged discrimination involving other airlines, people are asking if Delta has a racism and discrimination problem.

Adam Saleh's prankster tendencies still does not excuse the islamophobia and discrimination people face daily on @Delta's part

—  (@__lucyana) December 21, 2016

Not surprised delta would do this they literally have a history of racism and discrimination #boycottdelta

— ........... (@kinkerbell_) December 21, 2016

The allegations date back at least two years, if not longer. A Muslim woman wearing a hijab said she was harassed in February of 2015 on a Delta flight from Fort Lauderdale to Detroit.

What does @Delta and @DeltaAssist do when you are harassed? They put you and your kids on the back of the plane. pic.twitter.com/9DpLUNTo5N

— Abed A. Ayoub (@aayoub) February 2, 2015

In August of this year, a Muslim couple accused Delta of Islamophobia for throwing them off a flight after, they allege, the flight crew had noticed them "sweating" and saying the word "Allah", which they denied.

In October of this year, an incident came to light in which an African-American female doctor tried to help a passenger having a medical issue but was rebuffed by the flight crew, which didn’t believe she was a doctor.

Dr. Tamika Cross said in a Facebook posting that when she raised her hand to help at the request of flight attendants, she was told, “Oh no, sweetie. Put your hand down. We are looking for actual physicians or nurses or some type of medical personnel. We don't have time to talk to you.”

But when a fellow, white male colleague produced credentials proving he was a doctor, the flight crew allowed him to work on the sick passenger.

Delta acknowledged the incident and, just this week, announced changes to its in-flight service.

“The unfortunate encounter she described did not reflect Delta’s culture and sparked a full investigation by the airline,” the carrier said in a statement. “Effective Dec. 1, Delta flight attendants are no longer required to verify medical credentials. They can now secure a medical professional’s help based on the volunteer’s statement that he or she is a physician, physician assistant, nurse, paramedic or EMT. As part of the review, Delta found that there is no legal or regulatory requirement upon the airline to view medical professional credentials. And, as it becomes more and more common for medical licenses to be verified online, physicians and nurses often do not carry a license with them and some states no longer issue wallet versions.”

Still, the airline continues to face criticism, particularly on social media.

Delta has not announced whether it plans to conduct an overall review of alleged discriminatory practices, or to just handle them on a case-by-case basis.