07 September 2006
A Hassidic Jew on an Air Canada plane leaving Montreal's airport was denied by crew to pray during take-off and escorted off the plane shortly afterwards, according to Canadian media reports. Eyewitnesses said the Orthodox man began to pray when the aircraft was approaching the runway. Shortly afterwards, a flight attendant approached the man and told him his praying was making other passengers nervous. "The attendant actually recognized out loud that he wasn't a Muslim and that she was sorry for the situation but they had to ask him to leave," Faguy said. The man, who spoke neither English nor French, was escorted off the airplane. Air Canada Jazz said the situation was "delicate," but maintained it received more than one complaint about the man's behavior. The crew had to act in the interest of the majority of passengers, said Jazz spokeswoman Manon Stewart. "The passenger did not speak English or French, so we really had no choice but to return to the gate to secure a translator," she said. Jewish leaders in Montreal criticized the move as insensitive, saying the flight attendants should have explained to the other passengers that the man was simply praying and doing no harm.