Can passengers who suffer from severe flatulence be forced to leave a commercial aircraft? Apparently yes, because that's exactly what happened a few days ago before an American Airlines flight in Phoenix.

It was supposed to be on a domestic flight to Austin, but on the way to the runway the captain decided to return to the gate to have a passenger removed from the plane. According to US media reports, he is said to have suffered from severe flatulence. The result: other passengers and the cabin crew are said to have found the foul-smelling fumes unreasonable.

Passengers who were on the flight said that the man had been behaving “strangely” before boarding. He then developed such severe flatulence on the plane that some travelers complained to the flight attendants. The stench is said to have been unbearable.

The cabin crew allegedly asked the man, who is called “Fartman” on social media, to stop the behavior. However, this did not have the desired effect, so the captain was informed. The latter then decided that they would return to the gate and that the disruptive passenger would have to leave the airliner.

According to local media reports, the crew explained to the man that he was not allowed to stay on board and had to leave the plane. At first he was said not to want to believe that he was being excluded from boarding because of his flatulence, but then took his hand luggage and left the plane without any resistance. American Airlines declined to comment on this incident.

Odor nuisances do happen from time to time, but it is very rare for passengers to end up with flatulence. More common are strongly smelly fruits, fish or other foods. In a strange case, a woman who had used excessive amounts of perfume had to get off a plane.