Boro Park Passengers Allege Antisemitic Discrimination on United Airlines London Flight

By Matis Glenn

An Orthodox Jewish couple allege that they were thrown off of a United Airlines flight Thursday evening due to antisemitic bias, according to a bystander who spoke with Hamodia.

Shortly after boarding UA flight 921 from Heathrow airport in London to Newark airport, the bystander said that the couple, visibly Jewish, was approached by a stewardess, followed by security personnel who arrived to escort the couple off of the plane. The bystander, who says that the couple was not making noise, or causing any sort of disturbances, could not make out what was being said during the incident, but spoke briefly with the husband as he and his wife were leaving the plane.

The husband told the bystander that he and his wife were approached by the stewardess, who asked the wife to turn off her cell phone. The husband says that his wife told the stewardess upon the first request to “hold on for a minute,” for her to finish the phone call, which she said was important.

The stewardess called security, and without being given a chance to remedy the situation or even discuss the matter, security personnel ordered the husband to remove all of his luggage and promptly leave the plane, the husband said.

United Airlines denies that this took place, and says that the passengers were “disruptive.” “United flight 921 returned to the gate at London Heathrow earlier today to address a situation where some passengers became disruptive and repeatedly refused to follow our crew’s instructions, including refusing to sit while the aircraft was taxiing,” Charlie Hobart, a United Airlines spokesperson told Hamodia. “The passengers deplaned and the flight later departed for Newark.”

Video shows the couple complying with security and following their orders without hesitation. While parts of the initial interaction are also caught on camera, the words exchanged between the wife and the stewardess are not audible. However, at no point is shouting or aggressive behavior seen on the part of either of the passengers.

The witness relates that she saw several children and teenagers leave the plane as well, which she thinks might have been the couple’s children.  

According to the witness, the plane’s departure was delayed for two hours because of the incident.

“They just wanted them off because they’re Jewish. Jew hate is acceptable, and stronger today,” the witness told Hamodia.