Jewish Family Kicked Off Flight Without Explanation

A Jewish woman claims that she, her husband and three children were kicked off a JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale to New York on July 2 without any explanation.

From ABC News:

Tamir Raanan and Mandy Ifrah, who live in Brooklyn, were heading home after attending a wedding when their 1-year-old daughter, Eden, began kicking a passenger’s seat.

Ifrah said she apologized to the passenger, and they exchanged words before the passenger changed seats.

That’s when a flight attendant came over to Ifrah’s family and asked them to get off the plane, the family said in a media release.

“The plane, at that point, just turns back around, goes back to the gate and security from JetBlue gets onto the flight and tells me and my family and I to grab our things and get off the plane,” Ifrah said in an interview with Local 10 News.

JetBlue said that the adults in the family were making threats, and it was their actions that caused them to be taken off the plane.

“After a verbal altercation that included physical threats and profanities against a nearby customer, the aircraft door was reopened and our airports team politely asked the customers to step off to discuss the situation,” JetBlue said in a statement. “The customers refused repeated requests and our crew members deplaned the entire aircraft. Law enforcement escorted them out of the gate area and we provided a refund.”

JetBlue said the family was “not removed due to the actions of their children.”

“We are investigating whether the customers’ behavior warrants restrictions on JetBlue travel, and we thank our crew members for their professional handling of this unfortunate incident,” the statement said.

Part of the exchange with the flight attendant in the plane was captured on video, as was their interaction at the gate. In the video, Raanan and Ifrah repeatedly ask for an explanation, and the flight attendant tells them they need to call the airline for further information.

A Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy stepped in shortly after that exchange and defused the situation.

“Ifrah said JetBlue told the family that they would be booked on a flight the next day, but they would need to find overnight accommodations,” a media release sent on behalf of the family said. “However, JetBlue did not remove their luggage from the plane, leaving them without clothes and baby supplies.”

The family claims when they arrived the next morning for their flight, a JetBlue representative told them that they were banned from all future flights while the incident is under investigation. The family also claims they weren’t given a reason for the airline’s decision.

In addition, the family said that their luggage was not in New York when they arrived home and that it took a week before their bags were returned.

As for JetBlue’s account of what happened, Ifrah said it’s false.

“That’s not true at all,” Ifrah said. “My baby must have been kicking the chair. I mean, she’s, you know, at that time, she needs a bottle. She’s tired. She’s cranky.”

Ifrah said she would simply like an apology from JetBlue.

“It was just embarrassing,” Ifrah said. “It was horrible.”

20 Comments

  • Sorry to hear that

    I watched both videos and thats pretty terrible. I’m sorry you had to go through that. What happened in the end?

  • Outrageous

    They were very calm and that flight attendant couldn’t give them any reason why they were thrown off. We’ve all had kids kicking the back of the seat – it’s very annoying, but I don’t understand how a 1 year old could reach! These airlines are bloodsucking vampires.

  • The kangeroo

    #3 precisely it is your kind of logic that got them kicked of.Their only recourse is to find a lawyer who will take the case.You can not ask for logic you have to apply legal force.

  • who knows

    who knows what the truth is
    They were not allowing the man to respond to their repeated demands for a reason..
    they kept asking but did not allow him to respond.
    I realize that being kicked off is terribly humiliating not to mention the delay in getting home with a family.
    But we don’t know what really happened and I am sure they are going to get to the bottom of this.

  • Branover's Mashgicha

    Okay count to 3…Ready.
    Nobody here knows what happened.
    It’s either justified or not.
    Why do you have to form an opinion.
    You need not form an opinion on everything you read.
    Let’s repeat that.
    You need not form an opinion on everything you read.
    Okay count again to 3…
    Let it sink in.
    Isn’t that liberating.

  • Yankel Todres

    B”H
    If you can find a lawyer to take this case on a contingency basis, you should definitely go ahead. Even if you don’t manage to get to much money, at least you’ll do us all a favor by showing these people that they can’t keep treating their passengers that way!

  • Yankel Todres

    Ifrah said she would simply like an apology from JetBlue.

    NOT ENOUGH! MAKE THEM PAY!

  • Yudi

    It’s interesting how all these videos are missing the first interaction. From what I can see, this couple seems like very loud obnoxious New Yorkers.

  • True reason

    They needed to have some seats for other people and now got four empty seats in one shot. But they won’t tell you that.

  • The kangeroo

    Jet Blue does not need to give a reason they run an airline not a gemorah class.The issue is did they act properly according to law.If you want to create public pressure on jet blue describe the suffering caused to the children and their parents.

  • Yossel

    Let this be a lesson….you CANNOT argue common sense with the airlines! They do not have to give you a reason to kick you off a plane. They can basically do whatever they want; marshal law is in effect on all flights (this is true, you can check it out).

    It behooves all travelers to ensure they get on the plane, keep quiet, and don’t make any kind of disturbance. If you have a temper or screaming kids, expect the worst, G-d forbid.

    Personally, I HATE flying and would drive to Florida, but no one else in my family is willing to spend 2-3 days in the car on the road.

  • hopeful

    i have been one such passenger where a real bratty kid was kicking the back of my seat before even take off, just sitting on the runway for maybe 2 hrs. i asked the mom to please stop her, sure she couldn’t control her. when i asked the stewardess to please change my seat, she said there was none, but quickly brought some coloring book and crayons for the little girl. i would certainly have felt horrible if they would of shipped them off the plane because of me. this is unacceptable what happened. we do know that these supervisors and officers have much more power than we do, even if we 100% right, we need to obey them however hard it may be, and take it up later with whomever.

  • Slomo

    Physical threats were made against the other passenger – that’s what did it. They seem like nasty people.

  • The kangeroo

    The best advice do not use jet blue.The company kicked of passengers before.If want respect and humane treatment avoid this tzoreh.

  • Anonymous

    It seems that some are blaming the parents but to be left without their luggage and have to buy food and clothes was terrible. If they wanted the family off the plane they should have taken the time to retrieve their luggage. I know what it’s like to be left with nothing. My purse was ripped from my shoulder in broad daylight,leaving me with no money,credit card,driver’s license,car keys,house key.i was left walking in the heat until I was able to flag down a police car.

  • Raphy

    I happen to fly alot myself. I hate to mention that it takes to to argue, the other passenger in this flight that said tie ur babies feet was wrong for saying that. But this woman and her husband have a temper and were put in their place. She hopefully learned her lesson. Unfortunately this time it was the hard way.

  • Yiv Shem

    this lady was extremely verbally abusive to the passenger who got kicked by her kid. Other passengers witnessed this! The family deserved to get booted. The world doesn’t revolve around their kids!