DUBAI: A pair of men who looked to be Muslim were escorted off a plane bound for the UK after two women accused them of “making gestures,” the Manchester Evening News reported Friday.

The two British women reportedly told the cabin crew the men were seen “skipping security scanners” and “making gestures.”

Witnesses labelled the incident as an “embarrassment” as the Thomas Cook Airlines flight was taking off from Izmir in Muslim-majority Turkey.

“Two innocent Muslim men were marched off plane and searched as two English ladies refused to fly with them on the plane,” a witness who asked not to be named told the newspaper. 

“The result was a delay for everyone and the men flew, while the women were left behind.”

However, before the plane took off – without the two women, who refused to fly – the men were asked to trace their steps through security at the airport for extra checks.

A spokesman for Thomas Cook Airlines confirmed the concerns raised were “unverified” and thanked the men for their cooperation.

“Two customers on this flight were asked to go through security a second time as a precaution, after unverified concerns were raised that the initial airport security check had missed them out,” he said in a statement, according to the Independent.