Orthodox Jewish passengers say that United Airlines pilots forced him out of the plane’s bathroom while experiencing constipation.
Yisroel Liebb of New Jersey described his trip through unkind skies in a federal lawsuit against the airline and the US Department of Homeland Security this week.
Liebb and fellow Orthodox Jewish travelers said they were forced to miss a connecting flight to New York while US customs and border guards paraded them through airport terminals and left them on their phones to search for their luggage.
“CBP officials responded to reports of flight obstruction at the airline’s request,” said Hilton Beckham, vice chairman of CBP’s spokesperson. “Due to the ongoing lawsuit, we cannot provide further comment.”
United Airlines declined to comment. Messages seeking comment remained with attorneys representing Reeve and other traveller Jacob Sebag.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Manhattan Federal Court, Reeve said he was in the bathroom behind the plane on Jan. 28, and a flight attendant woke up a Cebu bag from his nap and asked Sebegg to check him out.
Liebb said he explained his gastrointestinal predicament and assured Sebbag that he would be out immediately. Sebbag then relayed it to flight attendants, the lawsuit says.
About ten minutes later, Liebb still felt sick, so the pilot approached Sebbag and asked him to check on Liebb, the lawsuit says. The pilot then cried out at Liebb and immediately yelled out of the toilet, the lawsuit said.
Reeve tells the pilot that he was finished and he told him he was off for a while.
According to the lawsuit, the pilot responded by breaking the lock, forcing the bathroom door, pulling his pants out along with his pants still around his ankles, and exposing his genitals to the cubes, flight attendants and nearby passengers.
“The pilot became visibly furious, broke the door lock, forced the door to the toilet, pulled his pants out of his pants around his ankles, exposed his genitals to a cub, several flight attendants, and passengers near the plane,” the lawsuit said.
Reeve said she felt “sexual infringement and embarrassment after being publicly exposed as nude.”
“When Sebbag led Liebb, the pilots repeatedly pushed (the two) back into their seats, were arrested about their Judaism, made scathing remarks about their Judaism and mourned the ‘Jewish behaviour’,” the lawsuit continued.
Get the most important US headlines and highlights sent directly to you every morning
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising, and content funded by external parties. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy. We use Google Recaptcha to protect our website and the application of Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
After the newsletter promotion
After a two-hour flight landed in Houston, the man said he had escorted and escorted half a dozen customs and border guards from the plane.
When Reeve asked why they were in custody, the officers handcuffed him and replied, “This is not a county or a nation. We are home. You have no right here.”
The man said United booked them for free on a flight to New York City the following day, but their savings from the free ticket were lost as they had to pay for the overnight hotel stay and food during the delay.
The two men said the handcuffs caused “severe wrist pain” and “continues for several days afterwards.”
Maya Yang contributed to this report.
