It has been a full week since this situation happened. When I think about it now I realize how crazy, unreal and traumatic it actually was I am still in shock. I am sharing our story not for sympathy or comments but to make people aware. What happened was wrong on so many levels and should not be allowed to happen again. Not by JetBlue or any airline.
After an amazing “Yeshiva Break Week” vacation with our 4 children and their cousin in Disney World, Orlando, we were ready to get home for Shabbat. We arrived to the airport with ample time for us to check in for your flight, check baggage and go through security screening. My husband even dropped us all off at the terminal before he returned the rental car so that we have even more time to go through security. We pre-checked in online the night before and also purchased the even more speed option through JetBlue when we initially bought the tickets in November.
JetBlue removed my family and I from their terminal at MCO International Airport and had us escorted by armed officers. Four children all under the age of 9. It was disgusting and hurtful on so many levels.
Leaving from MCO, Orlando’s International Airport, was unbelievable. I once read about a story in the Huffington Post about a person’s experience with Orlando’s airport craziness, but thought he/she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn’t until this trip that I was able to appreciate this person’s frustration. They wrote: “MCO was a sea of people and the lines extended way beyond the stanchions…it was a mess. For some reason, my line moved insanely slow to the point I was worried about catching my flight. By the time I got up to security, they were trying to move everyone so quickly that we didn’t have to do the normal, shoes off/laptops out procedure. They were funneling people through as fast as possible in what seemed like an effort to make sure these planes had people on them.” Some checkpoints have been organized in a way that makes the job easier, while others are lacking the infrastructure or staff to get people faster through security. Shocked is an understatement. We were surprised to find out there was no “even more speed” line (which we had purchased for all 7 of us).
The security line was HORRENDOUS; picture cattle all herded in one small room fighting for a way out. It took me over an hour to get through with all 5 kids. We arrived at the gate approximately 20 minutes before they closed the doors and we were so happy that we made it. There were 3 women at the desk. I immediately asked how long till doors closed because my husband was still going through security, to which I was told within a few minutes. They told me that if he doesn’t make it they will put him on the next flight and then asked me if my family and I will be getting on the flight. I initially asked them to please wait for my husband as he was only minutes away and that we still had time till the doors closed. I called my husband and he told me that if he doesn’t make the flight he will get on the next flight or will stay till after Shabbat to get on another flight, but that I should take the kids and go home. I told the woman at gate that I will be boarding with my family and that my husband will do his best to make this flight and will get on another flight if he misses this one. A few minutes later another one of the women came and asked if we were going to be waiting or boarding to which I said we are getting on the plane. She then tagged my stroller and went onto the plane.
My children began collecting their things to get on the flight and the last woman who was their came over and asked if we wanted to get on the next flight I told her we are Jewish we needed to be home for Shabbat and we cannot break our Shabbat that we wouldn’t make it on time. I told them again that my husband will figure out a way to make it. She then turned around spoke to one of the other woman and came back and shut the gate doors. I asked her what was going on that we were waiting for them to check our boarding passes. (We had been standing by the doors the entire time boarding passes in hand) she looked over and said “you will not be getting on this flight” she then started calling standby passengers.
I was so confused. I went over to her to ask why she was letting standby on if we were all ready to get on. She ignored me. I asked again what in the world was going on. That I alone was standing there with 5 kids waiting to board our flight. She responded “you will need to find another flight”. I told her I had just told her 3 minutes prior we would not make then next flight due to Shabbat. Another woman then chimed in saying that there are only 4 seats on the next flight anyways.
I then asked if she closed the doors on me and my kids because I had said we were Jewish and we needed to be on this flight. She then called security and said I was harassing her. She smirked and mumbled something under her breath and then proceeded with completely ignoring me. I was beyond furious and at this point, my children knew something was wrong and starting getting scared and started crying. I told my kids to sit down and have a snack. My husband and the supervisor, Antonio, arrived to the gate around the same time. Trying to calm the situation down, the supervisor told us that this flight was already closed and that we would be put on the next flight. He was reminded that there were only 4 seats left on the next flight and that unless we flew separately and on Shabbat we would not be flying home on Friday. They refused to give an answer as to why didn’t allow my children and I on our flight. They took the stroller off the ticketed area and told us that we need to leave the JetBlue terminal because we were harassing them. The woman refused to give us her name and ID number stating that it was privileged information and that if we took a picture or notes of anything we would be subject to answer to the authorizes because that’s illegal in the airport. The supervisor gave us his full name and ID number and told us that we were more than welcome make a complaint with JetBlue and that he understands our frustrations and apologized for what we’re going through, but he could not allow us to speak to and harass his employees the way I did. I told him that I was upset and rightfully so.
The supervisor told us that we will be refunded for the 7 tickets along with the even more speed/space fees. We were told to go to the JetBlue Service Center and that our bags would be there. I told them that I would like the refund receipt for the 7 tickets and the supervisor said that they don’t have any receipts and that we will see it on our credit card momentarily. He then pointed to show us that police have arrived and that if we don’t leave immediately we will be escorted out by them. My husband called JetBlue customer service while we were waiting and they confirmed that we have not been credited for the flights. At that point the police officers came to us all and said that if we do not leave we will be arrested. My husband and I, in shock, asked the two armed officers if they were seriously threatening to arrest a family of 7 including 5 children. They didn’t seem to care for what we had to say and didn’t care of the damage they were causing. My family and I were not resisting or confrontational in any way. The JetBlue staff thought that involving armed offers would be the right thing to do and it created an issue far worse that anyone anticipated. Our 5 year old daughter saw the police holding their gun and immediately starting shaking and crying. Our 8 year old son froze and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Our 4 year old daughter closed her eyes and started crying hoping that she was dreaming and this was all not real. Our 2 year old son was calm but knew that something was wrong and just kept quiet.
The 2 police officers who showed up at the gate should be ashamed to call themselves officers. While we were waiting for confirmation of the refund, they began yelling that we were trespassing and would need to be “removed” from the airport if we didn’t leave immediately. We tried to explain that they had just told us to wait but they weren’t hearing it. It got to the point that they were staring and my kids telling them they were trespassing and they would need to call back-up………TO MY CHILDREN. I told my husband it wasn’t worth it and that we should leave and then just call JetBlue and figure everything out. The kids were terrified and we should just leave and deal with JetBlue and our credit later on let’s go.
You would think this is where the story ends.
The 2 “police officers” decided that I was apparently a threat… they started following us with one hand on their gun. A Jewish family with 5 children- big scary threat I know. My kids were so scared. My 5 year old started crying and shaking so badly she was struggling to tell me “mommy I can’t get air” I stopped walking and sat down to try to calm her down. This was when this police officer, hand still on gun, came over and said keep walking or I’ll call backup. I told her “I am sorry. I am not doing anything wrong my daughter needs to be calmed down” she looked at her and said “I said keep moving”. My 5 year-old daughter stopped and said “Mommy I can’t breathe” – She was having a full blown panic attack. My husband walked to the two officers who were a few feet behind us and requested that they stop following us because the children were terrified of them. He told the officers that we were a long way from the JetBlue Gate that we were at and that we can make the rest of the way to the JetBlue Customer Center ourselves and that their escort was unnecessary and was doing more harm than they think. The male officer apologized for scaring our children and then assured us that they will both stop following us.
As I was trying to calm my daughter, the female officer locked eyes with my daughter said “maybe you need to teach your children what police do”. I was at a loss for words. I picked up my daughter and started walking towards the tram again with the rest of my family and I noticed that the officers were no longer following us. It was a relief to see that we weren’t being followed anymore and we were making our way out of the airport finally. We got on the Tram to take us to the beginning of the airport and then right before the doors closed to the first cart, which is where we were, the two officers jumped in and stayed at the end of the train in the same cart. My husband and I were shocked. We couldn’t believe this. As soon as the train stopped and we walked to the main entrance to the airport our children all started crying. We all stopped and sat down and were all at a loss for words. While crying, our children were asking us “Why did they need a gun……We didn’t do anything wrong?”
They were right and we didn’t know what to say.
My husband went to the JetBlue Customer Center to collect our bags while I checked online for another flight.
The children were so traumatized by the airport and its staff that they could not stop crying and our 5 year old daughter even vomited.
To make matters even worse, our bags were not waiting for us at the JetBlue Customer Center. They were sent to JFK accidentally and the only thing we got from a JetBlue Staff Member was an apology. We were left in Orlando’s International Airport without a flight home, without clothing and without food. We felt more violated than words can describe.
Our children were so scared of JetBlue and this airport that they begged us to leave. They wanted us to go anywhere but here. We could not find another flight that would get us home before Shabbat and rented a car to drive to my husband’s relative that lives in Miami so that we can spend Shabbat normally as a family. We booked 7 tickets on American Airlines that cost $1145 each because of the shortage of availability and the short timeframe.
After Shabbat my kids were visibly scared to go to the airport. My daughter has woken up with nightmares screaming 3 nights this week. My other daughter cries when I tried to talk to her saying she’s still scared they will come back. My son thinks the police are out to get good people who do nothing wrong. We hope that this story will let you know what to expect from JetBlue and their staff. After being a lifelong JetBlue client, I was amazed with how they treated my family and me.
Name withheld upon request.
NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN.
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55 Responses
If you don’t sue you’re doing a disservice for all.
המקום ימלא חסרונכם וכל משאלותיכם
Insane
Something must be done to repair & fix MCO & it’s people.
1. You were treated poorly.
2. The next time you fly on erev shabbos just to spend more time on vacation, and in the winter no less, and something happens, take your story elsewhere, because we have no sympathy for you.
Rebbe Yid; Why would you make such a hurtful comment? Hiding on the internet? Shame on you !!
Rebbeyid…. wow… that’s all I can say. The facts of the story are shocking. To me it doesn’t matter if this was non religious family traveling on Yom Kippur day or a frum family on a regular Tuesday in June, the harassment this family went through is amongst the worst I’ve ever heard.
#Rebbe Yid without a Yiddish heart.
I pitty you and your family.
I hope your postings complaint on JetBlue.
This is not an MCO issue, it is a jetblue issue. They do things like this a regular basis. Someone I know was flying from JFK to Buffalo with five children, and were running late because of an issue on the way to the airport. They were expedited through security and made it to the gate while it was still open, and the attendant was holding the boarding passes, when my friend asked “do you know if my brother is on the plane?” The attendant put down the boarding passes, said “I guess you’re not ready to fly” and proceeded to close the door in their faces. The gate attendant thought it the funniest thing to have closed the plane on seven passengers. The supervisor came and did nothing.
I don’t know if the cops came, but the attitude at the gate was identical to this story….
If I ever read this from a goy I’d say “sounds like half a story, I’ll withholding judgement till I hear the other side and third party eyewitness accounts ” seeing as Dan Lekav Zechus I’ll modify that to “sounds like half a story, I hope the other half and other witnesses confirm it”.
I do feel horrible for you and although you don’t need my sympathies I will tell say for all those that read that this is definitely not an MCO issue and it IS a JET BLUE issue. They are notorious – and becoming more so, for their anti semitism. Being a life long customer does not help things, there are just some airlines that are NOT worth flying especially if you are flying with family. The sight of a Jewish family with kids just scares the **ell out of them. And BTW it’s not just them, there are other airlines as well that are anti Semitic and anti kids and large families. I know because I have been on many vacations with many different airlines. However it’s not ALL airlines that are like that (although I k ow everyone has their story). It is somewhat known which airlines are like that and which ones are not, I certainly do anyway I make certain to fly ONLY on those airlines when flying with my family, even if their flights are not always direct. Don’t get me wrong – none of them are צדיקים but we know who the רשעים are.
That being said avoid flying those airlines. Period.
And to all those reading something MUST be done. What do you say?
I’m reading between the lines…..the writer was delaying her boarding as long as possible so as to allow time for her husband to make it. When her husband told her to go ahead and board she still wanted to try to drag it out long enough for her husband to make the flight. The gate attendants needed to board all traveling passengers before boarding the standbys. She was delaying boarding, finally the frustrated gate attendant decided she wouldn’t put up with her anymore and she started to fuss because she was now ready to board. Well she missed that opportunity, and the fate trendant went back to her job of boarding the stand by passengers, refusing to deal with this pain in the neck anymore. Once she saw she wasn’t gettin anywhere she started making a ruckus and insisting on getting the gate attendant to meet her demands, leaving an already frustrated gate attendant to call security to extricate herself from a passenger who feels entitled, when there’s no reason for her to have to defend her actions. Granted she got a bad break with security, but the rest of the story smells like she’s blaming a gate attendant for not giving in to her shenanigans.
To the mammal who said ” we have no sympathy”
Is “we” referring to the nazis? or maybe isis?
As horrible as the story sounds, it is very one sided. In my extensive experience flying with JetBlue they have always been wonderful and go above and beyond to satisfy a customer so forgive me if I reserve judgment. A family of 7 should not get to the airport at the last minute and then be all stressed out because they may not make it home for Shabbos and then ask the airline to hold up the entire plane and wait for her husband. Who does that?
Can someone legally say if one can take videos in the boarding area of the flight attendants
IMHO – This issue is not with Jet Blue because this could happen with any airline.
I would contact the PD over there and show them this letter and ask them what they are going to do about it?
They should definitely sue the airline and make the story public by getting it into a newspaper or a radio show. Jet Blue was the one doing the harassment obviously. To: Rebbe Yid – even if it is not advisable to fly on Erev Shabbos, what happened to this family shoudn’t happen to anyone. It’s disgraceful! You should sympathize with the family, not admonish them.
@Rebbe yid you should check if your Jewish because you have no heart
I’m a travel agent, and I had the same story with American Airlines (not the police part but the closing the gate on my face when my wife was 10 feet from the gate. American Airlines should never be flown by anyone. I tell all my cleints that I highly recommend not flying with them. Most of them agree that they have had horrific incidents with them
I feel bad for the family but IMO there are two issues here. The first is not an issue with JetBlue or MCO but with TSA. TSA is in charge of the security and are responsible for making sure that the expedited line is there are many people who purchase that option. I have travelled many time from MCO on a Friday Morning and the expedited line was always available. I would advise you to complain to TSA about the security line issue.
As to what happened with the JetBlue employees. I can only say that I have always found them to b accommodating. The matter was mishandled based on your report.
sounds to me like you could have avoided the chillul hashem by not cutting it down to the last second.
dinar,
I would’ve said the same thing
when I was moving from florida we flew with Jetblue and they were the nicest crew I have ever seen, we had so much “carry on” that they helped us with all of it and put it under the plane for free
additionally the comment of “My children began collecting their things to get on the flight and the last woman who was their came over and asked if we wanted to get on the next flight I told her we are Jewish we needed to be home for Shabbat and we cannot break our Shabbat that we wouldn’t make it on time.” if I was a non jewish flight attendant the thing that would be going through my mind is “if for some reason the flight is delayed for some reason, these people would be a headache to deal with”
You should definitely contact news media and let the world hear your story. Anti-Semitism must end already. There is no reason for such force especially next to children. You would be doing a favor to all fellow Jews by letting the entire world know what happens. Contact the media. I’m sure they would love to take on your story.
There are some posters who are commenting about the family “getting to the airport at the last second”. The poster stated they arrived with “ample time”. I don’t know if it was the “recommended 2 hours before” but if it took over 1 hour to get through security (and yes it has taken me as long as 45 minutes to get through security at MCO) and then another 5 – 10 minutes to take the shuttle and then walk to the gate, and they still had 20 minutes until takeoff time, then the family did not come at the “last second”. If they paid for the expedited security check-in and that line was made available to them for use, then the 1 hour delay to go thru security would have been avoided and they would have arrived at the gate with plenty of time to spare.
$1145 per ticket? I’d just rent a car and do the drive
lets make an international incident and have jetblue issue a public apology i think if 20k people read you story and started a website and campaign against them they would apologize and fire the nasty gate agent lady. If your children see that she was fired and that jetblue apologized that would remove any trauma. I also reccomend a class action lawsuit against them lets start a gofundme to fund that and you an pay back the go fundme for the lawyer fees if you would win something
Several posters have correctly noted that there is shared blame here. The family definitely posed a “risk” to the gate attendants of delaying the flight given that the rules today “close” a flight 15 minutes before departure time. Allowing boarding at the last minute almost always results in delay, especially for families with strollers, baggage, small kids, etc. I’ve been on too many flights delayed by such last minute boarding to have any sympathy. I’ve also missed more flights and connections than I care to recall, even though I showed up at the gate before departure. Also, if they boarded the family and its checked baggage without the husband on board it would have been a bigger problem since the passenger in whose name the tickets were issued and luggage checked has to be on board (for security reasons).
Airlins personnel today are very stretched and will not tolerate any passenger pushback. If you challenge their decisions, you will be denied boarding and potentially face arrest if you don’t back off. Thats the reality of the market today. If you feel you are treated poorly by airline A staff, fly airline B. Once this family knew the husband was delayed at security, they should have simply left the terminal and checked-into the airport hotel for a nice extra few days in Florida. In the Alte Heim, our grandparents would never fly on evev Shabbos afternoons, assuming they the Wright Brothers had invented airplanes by them. There are multiple chazal and contemporary rabbonim who warn against traveling erev Shabbos.
This story made me cringe. The non Jewish world doesn’t revolve around us, and It’s up to Us to be made ndful of Shabbos not them.
1. No way should you have been traveling from Busy Orlando Erev Shabbos on Friday and get to the Gate 20 minutes before takeoff! If the Flight was at Noon, with 5 kids and strollers and luggage, you need to be at the Orlando airport at 9 AM, or fly Sunday.
2. Security at Orlando is very Very busy with very long lines. That’s why you get there early.
3. You never explain WHY your husband wasn’t with you?! Families go through security together, so your story here doesn’t make sense. Most likely you’re not saying that he was actually returning the Rental while you and kids went to security. So Again- you were too late to the airport.
4. When you reached the Gate so late, you should not have made your late arrival and Shabbos the Gate agents problem. You could either have quietly got in line and boarded, or not. But asking the Gate Agent to wait for your husband (whose luggage was checked and they don’t know if he’s going to make it on) and telling her about Shabbos and other flights being not good for Shabbos was ridiculous!! You were being disruptive!
5. Flights don’t operate by having people show up ” before they close the doors”! Flights are boarded much before that, this is not a Bargain Basement Sale where people show up “before doors close”. Don’t act entitled.
6. Why were you making your kids scared of policemen? My kids don’t act scared and throw up if policemen walk behind us. Your whole histrionic manner made your kids fearful and made the Gate agents evict you for being argumentative and Disruptive.
7. It’s your responsibility to make a trip calm, organized, pleasant, Timely, for your kids. If you can’t be Early for flights don’t fly, stay in NY
And people who check in but don’t show up at the Gate, as your husband did, are a security risk. This was bad enough, but then you talk about not being able to fly on Shabbos to a Goyish gate agent who then has to fear your reaction if the flight is delayed on the tarmac or in the air. You make a tumult at the Gate trying to delay the boarding process in hopes your husband will show up. But at a certain time if Passengers don’t show at the gate, the Airline policy is to board stand by passengers. In our insular Jewish Community we are used to a certain Heimishness, coming late, convincing people of things. In the Velt you must be an example to your kids and others of a respectful, calm, punctual person.
So sad. Sounds bit like Poland in 1930… question tho. How can ur husband “take the next flight” but u can’t cos of sabbath. Unless I missed something. But yeh, sounds to me like this woman had bad day and attitude and maybe couple of coworkers backed her up. Doesn’t sound like a particular airline I assume many have complaints. I think the police don’t realise that frum kids are pretty sheltered. She was genuinely saying “teach them about police so she wont need to be scared” When we first visited USA my 5 yr old said what’s that he said a gun, she said what’s a gun. He thought we were nuts. We don’t have tv…
The writer, who posted her story in a popular Jewish women’s Facebook group, left out many details. She realized, through the valid criticism she received, that she had to bend the truth to get a sympathetic story into this publication. MCO very clearly states that passengers should arrive 3 hours before the flight, she and her family arrived less than 1.5 hours before the flight. She argued with the flight attendants repeatedly to get them to stall the plane and miss take off for her husband before agreeing to board. The problem is that they had already seated standby passengers when she finally agreed. The plane was leaving Florida after Yeshiva week, which would indicate that it had many Frum Jews on board already. The writer is not being truthful and is trying to accuse an airline of anti-semitism instead of accepting that she made a mistake in coming to the airport late and creating a scene. We should be wary of calling any inconvenience “anti-semitism” because it then dilutes the acts of real anti-semitism. I am appalled that this level of dishonesty was published here and I hope someone takes it down before it makes the entire Frum community look like a bunch of whiners and babies who expect special treatment when they are late and abusive to airline staff.
All you people saying the other side of the story (JetBlue) side explaining the author didn’t include this side or reading in between lines on what she wrote I’m just courios on how acquired this information did you call JetBlue and get their side did speak to eyewitnesses. I just find it discussing that people just give their opinion on nothing they no about. till you hear another side you can’t voice another option to what happend just because you weren’t their.
give me a break, dont fly on friday, second they should have called rubashkin he seems to fix everything
To all those comments knocking the writer;
You forgot to address one very important detail;
Why do the police officers have to have their hands on their guns for a long period of time and they are walking behind this family. Were the police afraid that maybe this family will pull out a gun and then turn around and then shoot?
Maybe those officers should focus on the real criminals that are bringing in tons and tons of ammunition into their hotel room. Maybe the hotels in Orlando can use some extra security.
I just now googled “Las Vegas shooting”, guess how many results– 3,850,000 results
Did the Airport security think that maybe this family was planning to go to the 32nd floor and bring up thru the elevator an entire gun store and plan a huge mess. Guns should be used on the real criminals before they get to the 32nd floor and start killing left and right.
There is probably blame on all sides here. The letter writer should know, that a plane with a checked in passenger is not supposed to fly without that passenger. Its not like the school bus where 3 out of the 4 kids are there and you tell the driver, forget him today. In this post 9-11 world, that is a major breach of TSA policy. Same with a checked bag without corresponding passenger.
more appalling than than what may have happened in this article are the comments some people are making here….how dare any of you self righteous know it all’s blast the author about shabbos while you desecrate Ben adom lchaverio…ywn should seriously consider never allowing op-eds any more and if they disable the ability to comment it just brings out the most disgusting side of people
we are jews in galus.we have no business in orlando! disney is for goyim.if you take children on vacation to see niflaos haBoreh ( grand canyon or something like that) i understand,but quarreling with gentile flight staff at orlando airport on erev Shabbos and then publicizing it seems to me to be a chillul Hashem!whom to blame? airport personnel,orlando police,airport security,airline? guess what?they all boruch Hashem despise us!By inexplicably finding us despicable Hashem is keeping us apart for a very glorious reason!We shouldn’t be there in the first place! I know this seems archaic to many,but that’s how I feel!
I have no idea what actually happened, but I do find it noteworthy that there doesn’t seem to be any evidence to back it up.
If the airport was as crowded as is described in the letter, and the events occurred as described in the letter, I find it hard to believe that no one has video evidence of any of it, and no major news outlets have picked up the story. Any news outlet would pay good money for a story like this.
YWN, as other have previously express, please take down this article, it makes us look like a bunch of complainers, yes she may have had some valid issues, but more than likely she caused it to herself. Had she followed the rules like everyone else, this story most likely would have been a non-starter
i really really feel bad if its even 10% true this story, but something something dosent sound right here theres no תוכן to this story just hate hate hate?!?!
Leahleh, you said what I was thinking beautifully. Especially the fact that our children’s middos (including fears and anxieties) are the most accurate reflections of our own. If we cannot at least try to be calm and accepting (rather than accusatory and blaming) in the midst of life’s challenges and stresses, there is no way our children are going to learn those middos.
The police did sound cruel. Nevertheless I can’t pass judgement on JetBlue because the story is full of holes and many parts are deliberately left out. That would indicate to me that the blame, or perhaps a major part of the blame, lies with the author.
I have no idea if this author is being honest or not by including all the details, but what I do know is that as Jews we can’t forget we are in golus and have to be especaillu careful not to make a chilul Hashem. This means that sometimes we need to be even be more patient and forgiving of insult than the non Jews themselves. This also means doing everything we can to try and deescalate situations like this one so they don’t result in making a chilul Hashem. A smile and an apology can go a long way, even when we don’t feel like we’re the one at fault.
Funny how all the people blaming the family are all a bunch of liberals. They’re brains are twisted it’s a shame
Another reason to Stop the Mid-vacation! And if you say the kids need it – let them start preparing Shalach Monos – so Taanis Esther would be focused on the Fasting Part. Btw, I’m not a Frummie, just Frum!
Maybe this letter will be therapeutic for the writer. It doesn’t seem to serve any other purpose.
I feel for the writer and her traumatized children. But the whole thing could have been avoided had they
1. arrived at the airport with plenty of time to get through security
2. the writer would have been pleasant to the gate staff (who have to deal with so many problems)
I agree, the police thing is excessive. But who knows how much fuss she was making? The only clues are in the bit about her harassing the staff & that she was angry & upset. To me that translates to causing a massive scene.
Rebbeyid, I guess you must be the easiest-going guy out there – you never get upset or shout, do you? And such compassion & sympathy!
I believe Jet Blue and the writer are both responsible for the trauma her children suffered. But at the end of the day, none of us has the right to treat anyone like dirt, & it would seem Mom instigated the episode.
I am sympathetic, believe me… my BIL was in first class from London to JFK & went to open the overhead bin. A laptop fell out and hit another passenger, for which he profusely apologized. When the plane landed, the FBI were waiting for my BIL. Overreactions on both sides…. mom, be happy you could shell out almost $10,000 for new tickets. I suggest you file a complaint and see where it goes, but acknowledge your part in the drama.
This letter writer should watch a couple of Holocaust Documentaries and she will discover how Jews travelled in Nazi Europe and what they experienced and she will realize what Anti Semitism really is.
I wasn’t present for the events of the story but I doubt it’s anti-Semitism. The airline employees are under tremendous pressure to get planes boarded and pushed back from the gate In time. I’ve flown all major airlines including JetBlue to most major airports including MCO while dressed quite obviously as a religious Jew. Not one bit of anti-semitism. If anything, just the opposite, extra, if minor, accommodation like finding me Kosher granola bars on board instead of the treif snacks. My method is simply derech eretz. I talk sweetly and kindly to the airline and airport staff, with a smile, not with an imperious, indignant, or curt manner. A parent with many small children and a spouse not present is under more stress and perhaps not thinking of such things; I’ve personally witnessed that phenomenon many times before. We represent Jews to the non-Jews and it behooves us to set an example for our children, our people, and the entire world of how to treat others.
$1145 a ticket for 7 tickets? For 8 grand the family could have had the most wonderful, stress free shaboos with plenty of spare change for tickets home after shabbos.
Im not going to comment on the story, but there is a detail everyone should when it comes to flying.
Flight attendants dont get paid until the doors are closed on the plane. Every minute you delay the flight is asking all the flight attendants to take a pay cut…and possibly impacts their performance reviews, etc…
Right or wrong, the past is history…but in the spirit of “wearing the other persons shoes,” delaying a flight is literaly taking bread off other peoples tables… i know very few people who would take that from a friend, let alone a stranger…and when they are in a position of authority…very few of us wouldnt exercise that authority.
Just my two cents…
Im not saying anyone was right or wrong…im saying that you need to known the incentives of those involved before even asking to delay a flight…
I think the comment about the way things are done in the yiddish velt vs the goyish velt, is very appropriate. Just because you are a late to a gate and shabbos is an issue for you doesnt mean its an issue for the airline. Its not being anti-semetic not to want to hold the plane for you, there are other passengers who also need to get home for whatever reason. Ailine agents really do not have the patience for people who are demanding of them.
The one issue raised by the author or some posters that is especially obnoxious is the insinuation of any latent antisemitism within Jet Blue or the TSA. The CEO of jet blue is an LDS from Brazil who is well known for his chesed across all sorts of mosdos and has a good reputation for fair treatment of his employees with little tolerance of discrimination. You may recall an incident about 5 years ago where they booted a Jewish doctor off one otheir flights and he claimed it was for “anti-semitism”. Turned out he had initiated and engaged in harassment of a Palestinian woman on the flight, calld her and her kind “murderers” and was yelling that she might have a bomb in her baggage. In brief, the guy was a nutcase and deserved to be thrown off the plane.
Why does everyone assume the JetBlue, TSA, and Police officers are goyim? It’s Orlando and they have a large Jewish population. Jews have jobs at the TSA, JetBlue, and as police officers. And most goyim I know fully understand Shabbat and kashrut, but they aren’t going to get fired to accommodate the shabbat observance of someone with poor planning skills.