Jewish family claims kicked off plane due to religion, not body odor
Yossi and Jennie Adler deny giving off unpleasant scent, say they were picked out by American Airlines because they’re Jewish; airline insists deplaning was due to odor
A Jewish family from Michigan was kicked off a plane in Miami on Wednesday after American Airlines said other passengers complained about their body odor.
Yossi Adler and his wife Jennie, who were also with their 19 month-old-daughter, denied having body odor and said they were picked out for being Jewish.
The family had boarded a flight to Detroit when they were asked to disembark and had the plane door shuttered behind them.
“They said, ‘Sir, people have complained that you have body odor,'” Yossi Adler told NBC News. “I said: ‘Excuse me? I need to get home. There is no body odor on me.'”
The airline’s decision prompted an argument between the family and ground crew staff that was captured by Adler on video.
“There’s a religious reason for some reason that they’re kicking me off the plane. We don’t have odor, OK? Nobody here has odor,” Adler can be heard saying in the cellphone footage.
Shortly after, an airline employee replied, “Now you told me for religious reasons you don’t shower, is that what you said?”
“No I didn’t! I shower every day. I said you kicked me off because of religious reasons,” Adler fired back.
The family, which lives in Southfield, Michigan, said they were also told their checked bags would be removed from the plane, but that did not happen.
Yossi Adler demanded the airline explain why they were removed from the flight and said they were not told which one of them had body odor.
“We stopped several people in the airport and, it’s embarrassing, but we asked them, ‘Do you think we smell? Because we just got kicked off a plane for smelling,” Jennie Adler told WPLG Local 10 in Miami.
American Airlines insisted the reason it kicked the family off the plane was their scent and not because they are Jewish.
“The Adler family were asked to deplane last night after several passengers, along with our crew members, complained about their body odor,” American Airlines said in a statement.
“The family were provided hotel accommodations and meals, and re-booked on a flight to Detroit today,” it added.
The Adlers made it back to Detroit on Thursday and were reunited with their luggage.
