JTA and COLlive
Charedi Orthodox passengers on an El Al flight in November that was forced to divert in order to allow Sabbath-observant passengers to get off the plane are suing the airline.
The 53 passengers, who filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the 180 passengers that disembarked in Athens, Greece, rather than be on the plane at the onset of Shabbat, are seeking nearly $14,000 in damages for each of the passengers that got off the plane, Israel Hayom reported Tuesday. The passengers also are demanding that El Al publicly retract assertions that haredi passengers were violent and threatened the flight crew.
The flight, which left New York more than five hours late on Nov. 15, was diverted midflight to Athens, where the Shabbat observers disembarked and spent Saturday in a hotel near the airport. The rest of the passengers boarded an Israir plane several hours later and returned to Tel Aviv, since El Al does not fly on the Sabbath.
The flight had been delayed due to bad weather and was racing the clock to reach Israel before the start of the Sabbath. Dozens of passengers had demanded that the plane return to the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport so they could disembark, but instead the plane took off.
According to the lawsuit, El Al reserved hotel rooms for just 53 of the 180 passengers who remained in Athens and there was not enough kosher food.
The airline compensated all 400 passengers aboard the flight with a free round-trip ticket to the European destination of their choice.
In Athens, Rabbi Mendel and Nechama Hendel of Chabad of Greece hosted the passengers on Shabbos for davening and meals.
The Shabbos was an inspiring experience for the passengers, as Ben Chafetz wrote in an article describing the events.
This article is misleading. If you read the true facts of the original story, what el al did was unacceptable and dishonest especially coming from an Israeli airline. They basically kidnapped the passengers. It was crucial that passengers take action to prevent a precedent. Thank you to the passengers for standing up for what’s right.
true, I heard the told passengers they are going back to the gate, and then they took off.
El Al did no one any favors by landing in Greece BECAUSE they knowingly created a situation that forced passengers to be homeless for Shabbos and dependent on the kindness of strangers. In so doing they negate the reason why many of their customers choose the airline in the first place. But they do say that bias and anti semitism cause people to lose their minds and, in this case, their business sense.
Did El_Al at least compensate (or something) the Hendels or Chabad of Greece for their Rescueing the Passengers from fasting on Shabbos
It was their own fault of these passengers. They should not have set out on an overseas flight close to Shabbos. They ignored what Shulchan Aruch says, and they got what they deserved.
Last I heard He’s the only one who knows what a person deserves. And they ended up having the Shabbos of a lifetime for standing up for Shabbos, so..
Stop making up halochos. The Shulchon Oruch says you may not travel on Friday afternoon, if and only if the people at your destination don’t know you’re coming, and will not have prepared for you. If they know you’re coming, or always prepare extra, then there is no problem arriving right before Shabbos. These people planned to arrive in Israel 4 hours before Shabbos. How long before Shabbos do you get home on a winter Friday? What’s the difference between a long-distance flight, a short-distance flight, and a car commute? Does the Shulchon Oruch discuss these? The fact is that… Read more »
As Jewish company in Jewish state – ELAl needs to stop all operation on Shabbes! For all and all will respect it