A New York rabbi is suing JetBlue after he and his wife were allegedly kicked off a flight by the crew because of their religious beliefs.
In the lawsuit, obtained by FOX Business, Rabbi Abraham Lunger, his wife Miriam, and Brucha Ungar, who was traveling with the couple, were booked to fly from Palm Springs, California, to New York on New Year’s Eve 2023.
After boarding the flight, Lunger requested to change seats in order to not be seated next to a woman who is not his wife or blood relative, in accordance with his Orthodox Jewish beliefs.
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Several passengers offered to switch seats with the rabbi so he could be seated next to a male and not break his religious customs. According to the lawsuit, that is when flight attendant Jane Doe “yelled at Mr. Lunger to go back to his seat.”
The flight attendant then allegedly brought back the pilot of the plane, also unnamed, to explain to Rabbi Lunger that he “could not change seats because it was a violation, and it would cause a weight imbalance.”
According to the lawsuit, the man who offered to switch seats with Lunger was similar in size to the rabbi and was seated on the same side of the plane.
Additionally, the suit claims “at no point previously did JetBlue ask for weight information to assign the original seat arrangements” and “at no point on the flight did JetBlue ask for weight information of any of the passengers.”
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The two men switched seats, but it was allegedly unsatisfactory for the JetBlue crew.
According to the suit, “another passenger on board who witnessed this antisemitic behavior tweeted ‘this was resolved pretty easily (my boyfriend gladly switched seats once he realized what the need was) and everyone was seated and waiting.’”
“The pilot told the three Plaintiffs, ‘Sorry, you have to get off the plane. The crew members don’t feel safe flying with you. The flight will not leave with you on the plane,” the lawsuit alleges.
The suit alleges that “the only individuals kicked off of the flight were the Plaintiffs who were each dressed in clothing which readily identified them as Orthodox Jews,” even though other passengers who had switched seats were not removed.
After de-boarding, the suit alleges that all three plaintiffs were denied overnight accommodation, food, transportation or their luggage back.
The next day, after re-booking their flights to New York, JetBlue claimed that the three plaintiffs never boarded their flight, but rather missed their original flight.
The suit is filed in the Southern District of New York.
JetBlue shared a statement with FOX Business, saying, “JetBlue is proud to serve millions of customers each year from many different backgrounds.”
“We do our best to accommodate our customers’ various requests while ensuring all customers are provided the experience they are expecting from JetBlue. Due to pending litigation, we will not be able to comment further.”
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