Popular Sikh star Waris Ahluwalia has received an apology from the airline that turned him away from boarding a flight to New York after he refused to remove his turban.

The American-Indian actor and designer claimed he was barred from boarding an Aeromexico flight from Mexico Airport to New York on the grounds that he would not take off his turban for security screening.

Ahluwalia told Quartz he had already gone through two security screenings when an Aeromexico employee asked him to remove his turban.

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He then decided not to board any flights until Aeromexico made a public apology and agreed to conduct further cultural and religious training for their staff.

Mr Ahluwalia refused to cooperate with the turban ban, instead protesting on social media. Photo: Instagram

“No travellers should be subjected to what I was today,” Ahluwalia said.

“Fear is an opportunity to educate.”

The Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund expressed their disappointment over the situation saying the turban is an integral part of a Sikh’s identity and its removal in public is “akin to a strip search”.

The Aeromexico airline later released a statement apologising to Mr Ahluwalia for the “bad experience”.

“Aeromexico recognises and is proud of the diversity of its passengers,” the statement said.

“Every day we work to ensure strict compliance with the highest safety standards, while we respect and value the culture and beliefs of our customers.

“We apologise to Mr Waris Ahluwalia for the bad experience he had with one of our security elements in addressing your flight to New York in the Mexico City International Airport.

“This case motivates us to ensure that security personnel strengthen its care protocols, always respecting the cultural and religious values ​​of customers.”

Ahluwalia, considered by many as the ‘world’s best dressed Sikh’, was travelling to New York to attend the start of fashion week.

After being delayed by the situation he wrote on his Instagram: “Dear NYC fashion week. I may be a little late as @aeromexico won’t let me fly with a turban. Don’t start the show without me.”

Ahluwalia, who lives in New York, was one of many Sikh men beaten after the 9-11 terror attacks as violence towards the community spiked.

Many Sikhs said they were targeted by attackers who mistakenly thought they were Muslims due to their religious dress.

Ahluwalia was also one of the faces of the 2013 ‘Make Love’ campaign by department store Gap which marked the first time an American business prominently featured a Sikh in advertising.

After a poster featuring Ahluwalia was defaced in New York with the words ‘Make Love’ replaced with ‘Make Bombs’, the Gap responded by putting the ad as its background on Twitter and Facebook, a move which received widespread praise.