Former Senator Booted From JetBlue Flight

(RTTNews) - Former U.S. Senator Alfonse D'Amato was removed from JetBlue Flight for leading passengers protest in a much delayed flight. He was escorted out by Broward County Sheriff's deputies.

The flight was originally scheduled to take off from Fort Lauderdale en route to John F. Kennedy International Airport at 1.40 pm, but was ready to fly by 8 pm only. The crew asked a few passengers, who paid extra for seats with comfortable legroom, to move to rear of the plane to balance a weight issue of the plane.

The 79 year old D'Amato was sitting in the rear of the plane and he reportedly supported chanting by the passengers, who were annoyed by the delay.

The crew asked D'Amato to leave the plane and when he refused, they called the Sheriff's deputies to remove him.

Several passengers recorded the incident in their mobile phones and posted in social media. In one such video, the former senator said, "We can still speak in this country... I'm making an appeal to all you people... Stand up for what's right and walk out with me..."

"They are throwing me off the plane because I complained about what they were doing," he said in another video.

In response to his call, two passengers left the plane with him.

JetBlue has reportedly apologized to the Senator. The airline has also credited $100 to each passengers as a compensation for the delay.