After Jewish woman writes CEO, United changes Israel flight to avoid Yom Kippur

Passenger noted that observant people will not be able to make Monday’s 8:05 p.m. flight out of Newark, because the fast only ends at around 7:30

By Marcy Oster 24 September 2020, 2:24 am

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A United Airlines jet prepares touches down at Newark Liberty International Airport on Jan. 23, 2019, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

JTA — A Jewish passenger who couldn’t make a United Airlines flight to Israel because of Yom Kippur went right to the top for an accommodation — and it worked.

The woman, identified as Miriam W. by DansDeals, wrote an email directly to the airline’s CEO and chairman, Scott Kirby and Oscar Munoz, to explain her situation: She said she wouldn’t be able to make it in time to Newark Liberty Airport for the 8:05 p.m. flight on Monday, September 28, because of the holiday, as the fast day ends at around 7:30.

United’s executive offices called last week to tell her that the flight schedule would be changed.

The airline has recently changed its evening flights from Newark to Tel Aviv from 10:50 to 8:05 due to new scheduling requirements during the coronavirus crisis.

“I’m surprised United didn’t realize this when they made their COVID-19 schedule changes, but kudos to United for changing the flight time a week before the flight in order to accommodate religious passengers!” Dan Eleff wrote on his DansDeals website.