Two men kept from boarding US plane after speaking Arabic

Maher Khalil (left) and Anas Ayyad were told that they wouldn't be allowed on a plane because a fellow passenger had overheard them speaking Arabic.PHOTO: FIRST WE FEAST/TWITTER

NEW YORK: Two men were kept from boarding a flight from Chicago to Philadelphia this week because they were speaking Arabic, one of just several incidents reflecting the paranoia sparked by the Paris attacks.

Maher Khalil and Anas Ayyad were told by a gate agent at Midway Airport that they wouldn't be allowed on the plane because a fellow passenger had overheard them speaking Arabic - and was afraid to fly with them.