No antisemitism in decision to bar identifiable Jews from flight: Lufthansa

Large groups of Orthodox Jewish customers were denied boarding by Lufthansa Airlines in May after some of them objected to wearing masks. The episode, which the airline’s CEO called “categorically unacceptable”was found to be unrelated to any institutional antisemitism, according to an independent investigation that was commissioned by the airline.

More than 100 Hasidic passengers were removed from a connecting flight from New York to Budapest on May 4 because some of them had not worn masks and engaged in other flight infractions, such as congregating in the aisles, according to a letter from Lufthansa Airlines CEO Jens Ritter to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Ritter also stated that the airline had formed an internal task force to investigate the incident.

Jews in America and Europe were incensed by the episode, and some of them claimed that the crew had discriminated against all visibly Jewish passengers, even those who had followed the regulations.

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The Conference of Presidents was one of many Jewish organisations that lambasted Lufthansa in the wake of the tragedy and demanded an exhaustive investigation.

The majority of the passengers didn’t know one another and were going on a pilgrimage,a Lufthansa supervisor was overheard making a remark.

(With inputs from agencies)

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