US actor Baldwin says sorry over plane row

US actor Alec Baldwin apologized to fellow passengers after he was thrown off a plane for "extremely rude" behavior -- but slammed "Greyhound"-style service on US airlines since 9/11. The "30 Rock" star also insisted he was singled out unfairly when a "1950s gym teacher" American Airlines flight attendant ordered him to turn off his phone while waiting to take off. In a series of tweets -- which were later unavailable as Baldwin had deactivated his Twitter account -- he said he was playing a popular smartphone game when he was told to leave the plane at Los Angeles airport Tuesday. "Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving," Baldwin tweeted. American Airlines retorted in a statement Wednesday, saying Baldwin had ignored a request to turn off his phone -- and stormed off to the lavatory, slamming the door shut, alarming the pilots. Recalling the rule that cellphones and electronic devices must be turned off when the plane doors are closed and seatbelt lights on, American said: "This passenger declined to turn off his cell phone when asked to do so. "The passenger ultimately stood up (with the seatbelt light still on for departure) and took his phone into the plane's lavatory." "The passenger was extremely rude to the crew, calling them inappropriate names and using offensive language. Given the facts above, the passenger was removed from the flight and denied boarding." A few hours later the actor -- whose Twitter feed had been mysteriously deactivated -- voiced his frustration in Huffington Post article headlined: "A Farewell to Common Sense, Style, and Service on American Airlines." "I would like to apologize to the other passengers onboard the (AA) flight that I was thrown off of yesterday. It was never my intention to inconvenience anyone with my 'issue' with a certain flight attendant," he said. He said he had flown American for 20 years -- but became frustrated when the flight was delayed and then when a flight attendant ordered him to stop using his cellphone. "I was singled out by this woman in the most unpleasant of tones. I guess the fact that this woman, who had decided to make some example of me, while everyone else was left undisturbed, did get the better of me." Baldwin lamented the impact of the September 11, 2001 attacks on US airlines and airports. "One of the big changes .. is in the increase of the post-9/11, paramilitary bearing of much of the air travel business," he said, adding that US airlines and airports had made "the air travel experience as inelegant as possible." He added: "Most of the flight attendants I have ever encountered still have some remnant of the old idea of service ... But there are many now who walk the aisles of an airplane with a whistle around their neck and a clipboard in their hands and they have made flying a Greyhound bus experience. "The lesson I've learned is to keep my phone off when the 1950's gym teacher is on duty. That was my fault there, even though this trip was quite a bit different from so many others. "But it is sad, I think, that you've got to fly overseas today in order to bring back what has been thrown overboard by US carriers in terms of common sense, style, and service."