Spanish Airline Sparks Controversy After Forcing Jewish Passengers Off Plane for "Disrupting Flight Preparations"

Took Off After More Than Two Hours of Delay
"Numerous Antisemitic Incidents... A Serious Case"

Spanish low-cost airline Vueling has become embroiled in an antisemitism controversy after forcing dozens of Jewish French youths to disembark from a plane, citing interference with flight preparations.

According to the French daily Le Figaro on July 24 (local time), 47 Jewish youths and 4 chaperones, who had just finished a summer camp in Spain and were returning to France, were forced to leave a Paris-bound plane at around 2:30 p.m. the previous day. Due to this incident, the flight was delayed for more than two hours before it finally took off.

Vueling Airbus A321 aircraft. Photo provided for article understanding and is unrelated to the content. AP Yonhap News.

A video shared on social media shows Spanish police forcing a young woman, believed to be a chaperone, to lie face down on the floor before handcuffing her.

Amichai Chikli, Israel's Minister of Diaspora Affairs, stated on X (formerly Twitter) that "Jewish French children aged between 10 and 15 were singing in Hebrew on the plane at the time." He added, "Vueling crew members claimed that Israel is a 'terrorist state' and forced the children off the plane." He further pointed out, "There have been numerous serious antisemitic incidents recently, and this is one of the most severe cases."

The mother of one of the Jewish youths on the plane told Israeli media outlet i24News, "One child was singing in Hebrew, and a crew member threatened to call the police if he continued." She said that the student immediately stopped singing, but a few minutes later, police boarded the plane and forced the entire group to disembark.

Afterward, police instructed all the children to place their phones on the floor to prevent them from recording the situation. The mother claimed that a female chaperone who protested was physically subdued by the police.

Vueling Airlines countered that the group of youths displayed highly confrontational behavior on board, disrupting the smooth operation of the flight. The airline stated, "They inappropriately tampered with safety equipment, actively interfered with mandatory safety demonstrations, and repeatedly ignored crew instructions." The airline firmly denied any claim that the crew's decision was related to the passengers' religious expression, stating, "We fully respect their religious beliefs. The decision to remove the passengers was made solely to ensure the safety of all passengers."

The airline also said that the youths' "aggressive behavior" continued in the terminal after disembarking, and some displayed violent attitudes toward authorities, resulting in the arrest of one of the group's chaperones.

Spanish police issued an official statement saying, "The youth passengers repeatedly tampered with emergency equipment, disrupted the crew's safety instructions, and ignored their requests." The statement added, "The pilot determined that this group posed a threat to flight safety and requested their removal." Police also emphasized that the female chaperone who was handcuffed was restrained for failing to comply with police orders, but was not arrested.