A Jewish passenger claims JetBlue banned him after a flight attendant lied about an onboard encounter concerning a Palestine pin on her uniform.
JetBlue Bans Jewish Passenger After Complain About Palestine Pin Worn By Flight Attendant
Paul Faust, 54, was on a JetBlue flight from New York (JFK) to Las Vegas (LAS) last Sunday when he noticed a flight attendant wearing a Palestine flag pin on her uniform. During the service onboard, she transferred the pin to her apron so that it was again clearly visible to all guests.
JetBlue airlines hit with ‘anti-Semitism’ accusations after calling the police on Jewish passenger and accusing him of causing a ‘disturbance’ after he complained about flight attendant’s Palestine lapel pin https://t.co/WChIvCPEqn pic.twitter.com/N63DRxBmKh
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 30, 2024
Faust complained to the lead flight attendant who said she would talk to the flight attendant in question. That was it, or so Faust thought.
But when the plane landed in Las Vegas, a member of JetBlue’s ground staff boarded the flight and approached Faust.
JetBlue Ground Staff: ‘Sir! I need to speak with you.
Faust: What are you speaking about?
JetBlue: The disturbance you caused on the airplane
Faust: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
JetBlue: I’m going to need to see your ID. Our pilot called down about the disturbance you caused
Faust: I didn’t cause any disturbance. I’m not giving you my ID.
JetBlue: I’m gonna call Las Vegas Metro PD.
Faust: Do so.
JetBlue (calling police): I’m standing here with a passenger that caused a disturbance on our flight.
Faust walked away, leaving the airport. He later found his return ticket canceled and when he called in, a reservations agent read him a note on the reservation stating that he:
- did not listen to flight crew instructions
- didn’t listen to the supervisor at the gate
- said everyone should go to Gaza so they can be killed
Faust disputes all these points, saying he was never given instructions by the crew, did listen to the supervisor, and never said everyone should go to Gaza so they could be killed.
“That was not true at all. I had a conversation with the woman sitting next to me, who brought up the LGBTQ group Queers for Palestine. We had a quiet conversation, not addressing the flight attendant.
“I said, ‘Yeah, it’s a bit sad because if they went there, they would be killed.’ I had no communication with the flight attendant, whatsoever.”
JetBlue says it is looking into the matter:
JetBlue is committed to providing a respectful and welcoming environment for all our customers and crewmembers.
We are urgently investigating this incident, reaching out to the customer to hear first-hand about their experience and speaking to the crewmembers involved to understand if the actions taken were consistent with our policies and our customer service standards.
In the meantime, Faust remains banned.
This Goes Beyond The Palestine Pin
I’ve said it before: I’m not in favor of pins and other accouterments on flight attendant or plot unfiroms. The point of a uniform is to look…uniform, i.e. the same. It is not about expressing individuality. It is for that reason that I quite like on Gulf and East Asian carriers how there are strict rules governing not only the uniform and what can be on it, but also on hair and makeup. The idea is not to create robots, but to create a common and professional appearance so that mismatched unifroms or pins do not become a distraction.
I’m against GOP pins, DNC pins, Trump pins, Biden pins, Palestine pins, and Israel pins. I’m even against cross or star of David or crescent pins meant to symbolize the Abrahamic faiths. There’s a time and place for such pins, but not on airplanes worn by airline staff.
The Palestine flag, like Black Lives Matter pins, may mean different things to different people (same with a Blue Lives Matter or Israeli flag pin) and that tension makes it unwise to wear any such pins on airplanes if you are representing the airline. Sorry, focus on the service and advocate on your own time.
As for what happened here, we’re going to have to wait and see. I’m not sure what Faust says is true, though he claims he has a witness (his seatmate) who backs up his side of the story.
I just flew JetBlue and unlike my past trips,the flight attendants were quite lackluster. I could see a flight attendant simply being offended that Fasut was offended about her pin and making up the story.
We’ll probably hear nothing else from JetBlue, but hopefully, Faust will keep us updated. If he suddenly goes quiet we might take it as an indication that his initial story may not have been fully accurate.
CONCLUSION
A Jewish man claims he was banned from JetBlue flight for expressing dismay over a flight attendant’s prominent Palestine pin. JetBlue said he made threats onboard, but the man denies it. All of this over a small flag pin on a flight attendant’s apron…
Hat Tip: View From The Wing
