Lufthansa Apologizes For Denying Jewish Passengers Boarding

I wrote about the story of how a lot of passengers were denied boarding because they were Jewish.

There were many Orthodox Jewish passengers who traveled from New York to Budapest on the airlines. Orthodox Jewish passengers on the connecting flight were denied boarding because some passengers didn't comply with mask rules. Everyone has to pay for a couple.

I recommend checking out the original story because there is more to it. I wanted to give an update on the statement issued by Lufthansa.

Lufthansa apologizes to passengers denied boarding

The above incident has been apologized for by Lufthansa. Here is the statement from the airline.

On May 4, a large number of booked passengers were denied boarding on their onward flight with LH 1334 from Frankfurt to Budapest. Lufthansa regrets the circumstances surrounding the decision to exclude the affected passengers from the flight, for which Lufthansa sincerely apologizes.

While Lufthansa is still reviewing the facts and circumstances of that day, we regret that the large group was denied boarding rather than limiting it to the non-compliant guests.

We apologize to all the passengers unable to travel on this flight, not only for the inconvenience, but also for the offense caused and personal impact.

Lufthansa and its employees stand behind the goal of connecting people and cultures worldwide. Diversity and equal opportunity are core values for our company and our corporate culture. What transpired is not consistent with Lufthansa’s policies or values. We have zero tolerance for racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination of any type.

We will be engaging with the affected passengers to better understand their concerns and openly discuss how we may improve our customer service.

My take on Lufthansa’s apology

I was pleasantly surprised by the apology from Lufthansa.

• Realistically I imagine this case only got the attention of higher ups at the company yesterday; a full investigation needs to be done, and that can’t thoroughly be completed in one business day
• I appreciate that Lufthansa acknowledges that an entire group of people was denied boarding, rather than just non-compliant guests (which confirms that this was as we suspected)
• Nonetheless there’s an issue with even referring to these passengers as a “group,” since they had booked through various means, and many weren’t traveling together; it would be like denying all Black people boarding on a flight (even if they don’t know one another), and then saying a “large group” was denied boarding
• I appreciate that Lufthansa acknowledges that what transpired isn’t consistent with Lufthansa’s policies or values, and that the airline plans to openly discuss this situation with passengers

Bottom line

Dozens of passengers were denied boarding due to the actions of some passengers, and the airline apologized. I am happy to see that the company has acknowledged what happened, and that this doesn't reflect the company.

Hopefully more action is taken to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again.

What do you think about the apology?