Because their baggage then had to be located and then removed from the plane’s cargo hold, departure had to be delayed by approximately 75 minutes.
Haredim Refuse To Sit Next To People Of Opposite Gender, Delay Delta Airlines Flight By More Than One Hour
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Delta Airlines flight #468 from New York to Tel Aviv was delayed yesterday after haredim refused to sit next to people of the opposite gender, Ha’aretz reported.
The haredi passengers refused to take their assigned seats and chose to get off the plane when their demands could not be accommodated.
Because their baggage then had to be located and then removed from the plane’s cargo hold, departure had to be delayed by approximately 75 minutes.
The flight was supposed to arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport at 2:35 pm today, but it was late due the incident in New York.
A number of similar incidents have recently taken place on El Al flights, but instead of disembarking, secular Jews were either strongly encouraged to change seats to accommodate haredim or, in one incident, haredim did take seats next to people of the opposite gender but stood up soon after takeoff and stood in the aisles for much of the flight.