2 Muslim men from Texas say American Airlines profiled them

Two Muslim men from Texas say American Airlines profiled them and cancelled their flight after crew members said they "didn't feel comfortable" flying with the pair.

Abderraoof Alkhawaldeh and Issam Abdallah said they filed a complaint with the US Department of Transportation against the Fort Worth-based airline, asking the federal agency to investigate the incident.

The men say American Airlines discriminated against them Saturday for appearing Muslim and Middle Eastern during a flight from Birmingham, Alabama, that was headed to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

The pair says flight attendants reported them because a crew member noticed Abdallah flush the toilet two times while in the airplane restroom, according to a letter the men's attorney sent to the DOT. The men also waved to each other on the plane.

"It was the most humiliating day of my life," said Abdallah, who spoke Thursday at the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The passengers were put on a later flight. Alkhawaldeh and Abdallah were questioned and searched by the FBI and the Transportation Security Administration before they were cleared to board.

"I have taken hundreds of flights and to be treated with such disrespect, suspicion, to be questioned in public and to be singled out and followed around in front of other airport customers I am really worried as to what my next flying experience will be," said Alkhawaldeh, adding that he flies with American often and is an AAdvantage Executive Platinum member, the company's highest frequent flier ranking.

American Airlines spokeswoman LaKesha Brown said the flight was cancelled as a result of "concerns raised by a crew member and a passenger."