Report: Orthodox woman removed from flight after praying in seat

A passenger on a Delta plane says flight attendants “knocked” her prayer book and falsely accused her of failing to comply with mask requirements.

By World Israel News Staff

According to a report by Yeshiva World News (YWN), a mask wearing Orthodox Jewish woman was removed from a flight for praying in her seat.

The passenger, who requested anonymity, told YWN that she was “100% compliant” with mask requirements and blamed the incident on “blatant anti-Semitism.”

“I was on Delta Flight 5610 from Chicago O’Hare to JFK Airport on Wednesday,” she told YWN. “I had my [prayer book] open and was praying.”

She continued, “The flight attendant … angrily pushed my siddur down and told me to pull up my mask to comply with guidelines. My mask was up but she walked away without allowing me to show her. I brushed it off assuming she didn’t see me correctly.”

The passenger said that the flight attendant returned with a colleague and they “they both got extremely angry.”

“They knocked my [prayer book] and told me I wasn’t being compliant, even though the other passengers could see I was fully compliant, and just praying,” she added.

The passenger said she asked for the flight attendant’s name, after which the pilot announced the plane was returning to the gate to drop off a non-compliant individual.

Back at the gate, the passenger was reportedly told she could either get off the plane or face a lifetime ban from Delta Airlines.

The reason given was that the “other passengers do not feel safe and the pilot did not feel comfortable having [the passenger] on board.”

According to the passenger, she was holding her prayer book the entire time and the flight attendant told her, “You and your prayer book can get off.”

As of press time, YWN said it received no response from Delta regarding the allegations.

anti-Semitismcoronavirus