On an earlier flight last week (May 4) from Frankfurt to Budapest, some of the Jewish passengers were turned away because there were problems on an earlier flight from New York. They would have refused to wear a mask and were given a no-fly zone, according to by Duitse krant Frankfurter Allgemeiner Zeitung.
Upon arrival in Frankfurt, a large group of German police officers were waiting outside the gate.
‘Punished for being Jewish’
Passengers on the flight in question told a different story. For example, a number of Jews would not have worn the mask correctly, but the rest of the group kept to themselves to the rules. Despite this, Lufthansa would have decided not to allow any of the Jewish passengers on board.
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This led to great frustration among the passengers involved. For example, a man who traveled alone said that he had worn a mask for the entire flight, but was refused. “I was punished because I’m also a Jew,” he said.
For now, it remains conjecture as to the exact reason that all Jewish passengers were refused rather than just some. In a video, an employee, who appears to be Lufthansa, tells a passenger that it was the Jewish people from New York “who caused the mess and the trouble.”
Look at the images below:
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‘Apologies for personal impact’
Lufthansa acknowledged in a statement yesterday that a large proportion of the passengers had indeed been refused flight. “While Lufthansa is still reviewing the facts and circumstances of the day, we regret that the large group was denied boarding rather than restricting it to the non-compliant guests.”
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The German airline also apologizes to all passengers for ‘the inconvenience’ and the ‘personal impact’. “What happened is not in line with Lufthansa’s policies or values. We have zero tolerance for racism, anti-Semitism or discrimination of any kind.”
They will contact the ‘affected passengers’, they write. “To better understand their concerns and openly discuss how we can improve our service.”
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