Nine Muslims, most of them of South Asian descent, were ordered off a domestic US flight after co-passengers overheard what they thought was a “suspicious remark,” a media report said on Friday.

The nine, all but one of them US-born citizens, were taken off off an AirTran flight headed to Orlando from Reagan National Airport on Thursday after two other passengers overheard what they thought was a remark about security.

The group, which was headed to a religious retreat in Florida, was subsequently cleared for travel by FBI agents who characterised the incident as a “misunderstanding,” Washington Post quoted an airport official as saying.

Kashif Irfan, one of the removed passengers, said the incident began after his brother Atif and his brother's wife wondered aloud about the safest place to sit on an airplane.

“My brother and his wife were discussing some aspect of airport security,” Irfan said. “The only thing my brother said was, 'Wow, the jets are right next to my window.' I think they were remarking about safety.” Irfan, 34, said he and the others think they were profiled because of their appearance. He said five of the six adults in the party are of South Asian descent, and all six are traditionally Muslim in appearance, with the men wearing beards and the women in headscarves.

Irfan is an anesthesiologist. His brother, 29, is a lawyer. They were travelling with their wives, Irfan's sister- in-law, a friend and Kashif's three sons, ages 7, 4 and 2.

AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson defended the handling of the incident by the company, which he said strictly followed federal rules.

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