El Al Flight LY002, which was forced to land in Athens on Erev Shabbos due to a considerable delay in taking off, continues to make waves.
Passengers on the flight are suing Israel’s national airline for nearly $2.5 million, as well as demanding a public declaration from the company apologizing for scapegoating the delays on “violence by Chareidi passengers.”
The passengers are demanding a sum of NIS 50,000 ($13,515) for each of the 180 Chareidi passengers who were on the plane, in additional to a refund of the cost of the flight.
In a letter sent by attorneys Amit Hadad and Tamar Pollak, it was alleged that the company booked only 53 hotel rooms in Athens for the 180 stranded passengers, resulting in some people having to sleep on the floor.
Interestingly, only hours after the suit was filed, El Al released a statement admitting that Chareidim were NOT physically violent on the flight, despite rampant media reports to the contrary over the past few days.
[FAKE NEWS EXPOSED: Watch How Channel 10 Changed Video of SINGING El Al Passengers to “SCREAMING”]
Meanwhile, Ephraim Kamisar, one of the leading travel agents in the Chareidi sector and one of the experts on the New York-Tel Aviv line, told the Ladaat News website that the impact of last week’s events was very strong this week, as bookings for the flight are significantly less than usual.
The report adds that photographs of a computer screen from a travel agent showing the El Al flights taken on Tuesday, 12 Kislev, at noon, reveal that business class on Wednesday is booked solid while in contrast, the Thursday flight is completely open and available.
El Al responded to the reports: “The flights on Wednesday and Thursday are completely booked. Bookings are not diminished … As for the lawsuit – a lawsuit is responded to in court.”
In a letter to staff members, El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin said that the complex decision-making process surrounding the flight “took place in a dynamic and developing reality that was not entirely controlled by the company,” Channel 10 reported.
Usishkin said the airline “prides itself on being the melting pot of Israeli society” and that he regrets the incident has led to “polarizing discourse and the exchanging of accusations.”
Readers might recall, in July 2018, YWN reported on El Al allowing media reports to scapegoat delays on a flight from JFK to Ben-Gurion on Chareidi passengers refusing to be seated next to a woman.
Only later did El Al issue a statement reading: “The details reported on the subject were inaccurate to say the least. In reality, the delay was not related to the event that was publicized. There was a delay in the move of the plane to the takeoff runway of an hour without any connection to the incident,” referring to earlier reports that chareidi passengers caused the delay after insisting on moving seats away from a woman.
[MAILBAG: El Al Should “Man Up”, Stop LYING, And Take Responsibility – Here Is Why]
[MAILBAG: An Open Letter To El Al About An Incredible “Shabbos Of Unity” In Athens]
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
No bad. They’ll also get Shishi, Maftir and a shul seat in Mizrach , upon their return.
I hope ElAl losses big! The religious people deserve a good compensation for their horrible experience and also to teach El Al that pushing people around like trash is poor business.
If El Al Heaven forbid looses, and discontinues this route, we’ll have to fly United & Delta, who certainly shall make no adjustment of a flight to accommodate Shemiras Shabbos, so we Frum passengers would be even bigger loosers than El Al.
147, I traveled with Delta to Israel and they gave very good service, I don’t know what the issue is.
And of course EL AL will not discontinue this route just because of a lawsuit.
In any case, people should not travel so close to Shabbos so it’s ok no if El Al cancels flights so close to Shabbos.
Its no secret that ElAl despises its Torah Observant clientele, partly due to the uncivilised behaviour of a few vocal frum passengers. Even the videos taken while not violent were unruly, roudy, loud and shameful. A Torah observant Jew has to behave in a manner that sets the highest standard in behaviour. To have 10 people shouting and being disrespectful is a Chilul HaShem which has now gone viral garnering horrible comments all over the world.
If the Torah observant passengers embodied refinement, sophistication, eloquence and perfect Middos, they would command respect and honour to themselves and to Torah observance. It would also result in the NonJew or Non Observant treating the Jew to a higher level of service and not contemplating even for a second to lie to them or to get 53 rooms for 180 passengers.
Its up to us Shomerei Torah to initiate the change.
The videos showing apparent commotion don’t show any frum people, neither do any of the pictures.
The passengers should not only sue elal, but, they should also sue the news outlets who broadcast the ‘fake news’ and especially individuals on the flight who made up these lies, such as a Roni Meital from Israel who is quoted on many of the news sources as saying the charedim acted violently and caused an uproar.
Sue, sue , sue…. Make yourselves important, more balagan, sue, sue.
Shabbos Shomrim vs. El Al..
It’s all L’Shem Shomayim, dontcha know.. Hoo – Hah…. You seem to be more concerned by being labeled “violent” than Shabbos prepping…. Minyans in near squeezby latrines are more important than walking away from a later & later flight takeoff as Shabbos approaches…
Excuses, excuses,…… dreikupping the rest if us…..Sue, sue,sue.
ZionGate, regardless of whether frum people should refrain from traveling so close to Shabbos, and I agree with you that they shouldn’t, under no circumstances can El Al lie about and besmirch Chareidim. The passengers made it on time in the snowstorm, but El Al’s crew didn’t and they have absolutely no right to blame the frum passengers for the problems their employees caused.