An Orthodox rabbi has accused
A federal lawsuit alleges the pilot falsely said moving to another seat was a violation that would cause a weight imbalance on the plane, and told Rabbi
His wife,
The three, who are observant Orthodox Jews and plaintiffs in the suit, say their removal from the plane was based on religious and racial discrimination. The suit also includes allegations of civil rights violations, harassment and retaliation.
The legal actions, filed
In a motion to dismiss the suit filed Tuesday,
A contract of carriage, which defines the legal responsibilities of the carrier and the user, allows
It also says a "passenger may not occupy a seat other than the seat(s) to which passenger was assigned," and that the Lungers elected not to pay for an advanced seat assignment.
"Instead, they attempted to switch seats with others in the final stage of the boarding process," the
Ungar had opted for a more expensive fare that entitled her to advanced seat selection and other perks, the motion says.
In accordance with religious beliefs,
The women cover their hair with wigs, wear clothes that have long sleeves and cover their neck and legs.
The suit alleges that other passengers who were not dressed in Orthodox Jewish attire had switched seats, but were not kicked off the plane. But
Brustein said there was a "stark difference in the way
He added: "This incident isn't solely about the freedom to switch seats on an airplane with a willing/consenting passenger, but about
Risman said multiple passengers on the flight spoke out about how the plaintiffs were being treated, and she hopes the case encourages others to also speak up when they see something they know is wrong.
The Lungers and Ungar had been scheduled to take the overnight JetBlue Flight 2050 from
Ungar was assigned her seat before arriving at the airport, and when the Lungers got there, the rabbi was assigned seat 18A by a ticket agent and his wife was assigned seat 21B.
As an observant Orthodox Jewish man, Lunger cannot sit next to a woman unless she is his wife or a blood relative, the suit says.
But when a woman came to sit in the seat next to
A man who was about the same weight as Lunger and sitting a few rows ahead of him on the same side of the aircraft overheard the switch request and offered to change seats. But the flight attendant attempted to prevent the switch and brought the pilot to the back of the plane, the suit alleges.
The pilot falsely told Lunger he could not switch because it was a violation and would cause a weight imbalance on the plane, the suit claims, adding that "At no point previously did
The suit says the pilot told the three plaintiffs, "Sorry, you have to get off the plane. The crew members don't feel safe flying with you. The flight will not leave with you on the plane."
The filing notes that "Another passenger on board who witnessed this anti-Semitic behavior tweeted 'this was resolved pretty easily (my boyfriend gladly switched seats once he realized what the need was) and everyone was seated and waiting. Then they were kicked off.'"
The Lungers and Ungar exited the plane and tried to get their suitcases but were told they could not, and
It added that when they arranged for a return flight the next day, the three were charged for a price change and a same-day change, and the airline claimed they never boarded their flight but rather missed the flight.
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