San Diego, CA, United States (AHN) – A Muslim woman booted off a plane bound for San Jose has received an apology from Southwest Airlines but wants the carrier to discipline the flight crew.

Irum Abassi, a 31-year-old mother and graduate student, was forced off a jet at San Diego International Airport on Sunday after a flight attendant heard her in phone conversation. The attendant reportedly heard her say, “It’s a go,” when in fact Abassi said she had told a Verizon agent, “I’ve got to go,” so she could end the call before take off.

Abassi, a U.S. citizen, was wearing a traditional Muslim head scarf at the time. She was taken off the plane by a Transportation Security Administration agent but was not searched or interrogated. “I even handed over my purse and cell phone for inspection and they didn’t even touch it,” she told KGTV.

Abassi was put on the next flight and given a travel voucher. Texas-based Southwest has issued an apology and has begun an internal investigation.

“We sincerely apologize for the customer’s inconvenience, and we regret that she was unable to travel as scheduled,” the carrier said in a statement. “We accommodated her on the next flight to San Jose, and we issued her a travel voucher as a gesture of good will for her inconvenience.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, however, has cited the increasingly negative image of Muslims nationwide. “Was it that suspicious to be removed from a plane simply for being Muslim and having a headscarf on?” CAIR spokesperson Edgar Hopida told NBC.

Hanif Mohebi, executive director of CAIR San Diego, is also quoted by KGTV as saying, “If she was a threat or suspicious in any way, shape or form, why in the world would she fly the next flight, right away?”

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