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Home  >  Law In Travel • Lufthansa  >  Lufthansa CEO Offers Handwritten Apology Notes To Jewish Passengers Denied Boarding, But Class Action Lawsuit Is Heating Up
Law In TravelLufthansa

Lufthansa CEO Offers Handwritten Apology Notes To Jewish Passengers Denied Boarding, But Class Action Lawsuit Is Heating Up

Matthew Klint Posted onMay 27, 2022May 27, 2022 10 Comments

Lufthansa CEO Jens Ritter has offered a note of apology and compensation to Jewish passengers who were denied boarding on a flight to Budapest on the basis of their appearance. But a class action lawsuit against the German carrier is heating up.

Lufthansa CEO Offers Personalized Apology Notes To Jewish Passengers Denied Boarding

A large number of Jewish passengers were denied boarding on a flight from Frankfurt (FRA) to Budapest (BUD) on the basis of their appearance as Jews, with Lufthansa employees collectively punishing anyone who appeared Jewish for the mask violations of a much smaller subset of passengers on a New York (JFK) to Frankfurt flight.

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The letter, which included the name of the passenger handwritten by the CEO (and also hand signed by the CEO) contained the following verbiage:

I am writing to you as the CEO of Lufthansa Airlines to express my sincere apologies that you were denied boarding on your connecting flight from Frankfurt to Budapest on May 4th. We deeply regret what you experienced, not only for the travel inconvenience caused, but especially for the personal impact that this incident may have had on you.

Lufthansa has launched a thorough investigation to fully understand what occurred on May 4th so that it may never be repeated. We are embarrassed by what transpired because it is not reflective of who we are as a company or the values of inclusion we embrace. Lufthansa stands firm in opposition to racism, discrimination and anti-Semitism in any form.

We would like to offer you reimbursement of your travel expenses for the JFK-Frankfurt-Budapest flight, as well as any incidental travel expenses that you may have incurred as a result of our actions in not permitting you to travel on your onward journey to Budapest. Additionally, Lufthansa agrees to pay compensation for denied boarding in accordance with EU Regulation 261/2004. In order to seek reimbursement please contact customer.relations@lufthansa.com who shall coordinate that with you. (Please see attachment for further instructions.) I want to make clear that this reimbursement is made in good faith by Lufthansa and will not require you to waive any other legal rights that you may have as a result of being denied boarding.

Once again, I want to apologize to you and the other travelers for what has happened on May 4th and allow us the opportunity to regain the trust of the Jewish community.

Sincerely,
Jens Ritter

Since the incident, each apology from Lufthansa has become more personal and more direct. While I do not doubt the sincerity of this letter, I do wonder whether it will be effective or whether it come too late.

The letters were only sent to those passengers who have not signed onto a class action lawsuit against Lufthansa for what transpired at Frankfurt Airport.

Class Action Lawsuit Heating Up

The American Center for Law & Justice (ALCJ), a conservative advocacy group run by Jay Sekulow (who also served as one of President Trump’s attorneys during his first impeachment trial), is suing on behalf of 26 passengers who were denied boarding. Others may still join the lawsuit.

In a blog post, Sekulow explained:

It’s hard to comprehend that in 2022 Jewish airline passengers could be banned from a flight in Germany and surrounded by armed German police, simply because they are Jewish, yet that is exactly what has happened. This blatant public display of antisemitism is beyond outrageous…

The ACLJ began receiving calls immediately after the incident, including from a number of the victims who had been in touch with Dov Hikind of Americans Against Antisemitism, and community organizer Ezzie Schaffran, who referred them to the ACLJ. We have already spoken with Lufthansa’s legal team and put them on notice regarding our representation. We will be moving forward toward seeking justice for our clients in the coming days.

The right to exercise one’s religion and to be free from discrimination due to one’s religious faith is an inalienable right that is protected by both international law and the laws of many nations. The [ALCJ] has been dedicated to defending this right since its inception, and we will continue to do so here. Antisemitic behavior and discrimination should never be tolerated.

The ACLJ has promised the lawsuit will be officially filed “in the coming days.”

CONCLUSION

The Lufthansa CEO Jens Ritter (not to be confused with the Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr) has issued personalized apologies to each of the Jewish passengers denied boarding on the basis of their appearance as Jews (except for those who have already joined a class action lawsuit against the airline). The offer of compensation does not require waiving other legal rights, as it appears now that Lufthansa will face a discrimination lawsuit from a prominent American conservative advocacy group.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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10 Comments

  1. Pete Reply
    May 27, 2022 at 9:37 am

    I guess Sekulow has some free time now that he’s not looking for Hugo Chavez’s Dominion voting machines.

  2. Random gawande Reply
    May 27, 2022 at 10:48 am

    Anti semitism? Can they prove that they were discriminated against because they were jews? Or were they just stereotyped?

    • Random gawande's Father Reply
      May 27, 2022 at 12:32 pm

      Son, I did not raise you to become this hateful being.

      • Bob Whitman Reply
        May 28, 2022 at 4:07 pm

        This was a bit different. As opposed to a family where one member is not wearing a mask and the whole family is “punished”, there were multiple groups that had no connection to each other besides the fact that they happened to be Jewish. There are videos and documented evidence backing up this claim (see: https://www.dansdeals.com/more/news/airline-news/outrageous-german-airline-bans-jews-flying-lufthansa-supervisor-jewish-people-mess-made-problems-everyone-pay-couple/).
        I agree with you that anyone who is lumped together with anyone else, even a family member, should be compensated and apologized to, in this case Lufthansa needs to do something bigger to address the anti-semetic aspect of their actions.

  3. Jackson Waterson Reply
    May 27, 2022 at 8:28 pm

    More likely than not this is a case of Lufthansa management apologizing because it’s been in fashion for 60 years for Whites to automatically apologize and admit guilt because other groups are entitled to permanent victimhood. We saw draconian enforcement of mask rules for 2 years against many different groups who do not receive apologies for being kicked off. Here a large number of people were not properly wearing their masks and Lufthansa employees denied them boarding. Is it possible some got lumped in together with others, sure. If one husband or wife or older child is not wearing a mask, it adds complications when their loved ones probably aren’t going to fly without them.

    All individuals should receive an apology, compensation, and firing of offending agents who enforced draconian mask mandates; not just this one group.

  4. SAS Reply
    May 28, 2022 at 4:01 am

    I thought it was Middle Eastern immigrants responsible for ”anti-Semitism” in Germany nowadays. Silly me…….

  5. Corbett Kroehler Reply
    May 28, 2022 at 3:22 pm

    Ritter’s efforts will be partially successful. The problem originated with the fact that a neophyte at LH HQ was placed in charge of making this decision in the first place. Perhaps he/she were too young to learn the importance of history or the fact that millions of Ukrainians have fallen victim to another diaspora in part because of their Jewish heritage. Until Ritter ensures a hiring/promoting process which includes cultural sensitivity, we won’t see a lasting change. I stand by my firm conviction that, while this despicable incident was 100% anti-Semitic, the anti-Semitism was, at most 50% deliberate. The other 50% should be assigned to rank incompetence with a side of ignorance. My sister converted to Judaism for marriage and I would have no problem recommending that her husband, daughter (who attends Hebrew school to this day) and she fly Lufthansa this summer.

  6. whocares Reply
    May 28, 2022 at 3:23 pm

    ridiculous.

    learn about the Holohoax.

    • SF Reply
      May 29, 2022 at 1:24 am

      Don’t you dare call it the HoloHoax in front of me. My grandfather was the only survivor from his large extended family. On my mother’s side there were only 2 cousins who survived. Need I detail more?

  7. IVAN Reply
    May 30, 2022 at 4:30 pm

    I would like a handwritten note for the appalling way Lufthansa agents behaved at the same Frankfurt airport.

    When I heard of what happened, it was pretty unbelievable. Then I raised an eyebrow when I noticed that I would be going to the same airport a week after this incident.

    A couple weeks ago I called Lufthansa and chose the best seats in Premium for a highest prices. Row 10. Two seats, confirmed and paid for. On the day of the flight I am given a boarding pass for these seats, so when I show up at the gate and find out I had been pushed all the way in the back of the airplane I was shocked as I had taken steps and payments to make sure I get the best seats. The agent at the gate was hostile. Told me that’s just the way it is. There is nothing she can do. When I contested the ethics and professionalism she became further angry and told me to leave because she needs to deal with another flight and to come back later and she will not call a supervisor.

    So I come back as instructed to do so, and find the personnel there very quickly tell me to go to another gate, some 10 minute walk away, that the gate had been changed. 10 minutes later I arrive at that gate to find the door closing and I would be the last passenger. I ask why no announcement was made and being pushed like this back and forth between gates. The gate agent was dismissive and said this happens all the time. I contested that – it does not – I told him this is highly irregular. He became angry and instructed his assistant to close the gate, whereas previously he was about to board me. I was shocked. I asked to see his supervisor. He refused. I asked him for his name. He refused. I took a photo of his badge. He ordered me to delete it or he will call the police. He picked up the phone. I told him to go ahead call the police. Do it. Cowboy. He looked at my boarding pass as he was on the phone and said, this is not even the right gate, that the right gate is some 15 minutes away. Apparently I was being Gas Lit back and forth like a ping pong back and forth between gates, some sort of sick game being played here at Frankfurt with Lufthansa agents. I go some 15 minutes to a gate on opposite side of everything and find the agent there once again saying that there is nothing she can do. I told her that I paid for those seats upfront some several weeks ago. She said there is nothing she can do. And I’m looking at the appalling behavior of these agents and going, ahhhh, OK, I now understand why the Jewish passengers were mistreated in this fashion – the entire Lufthansa crew at Frankfurt seems to be a very rotten bunch who (A) do not treat customers with respect (B) Maltreat customers with disrespect (C) Have no sense of dignity nor honesty (D) will not assist passengers (E) will Gas Light and manipulate / toy with customers to get them to go away (F) Will not respond to requests for their supervisors (G) refuse to give their names (H) Falsely lead customers to believe they can call the police if a passenger takes a photo of them or their badge because they refuse to get their supervisor.

    From what I saw from Lufthansa agents at Frankfurt I would say that the company needs to take a very close look at its operations and bring in agents to monitor the activities of their agents here. I have never seen agents behave so appallingly bad and without any regard to the customer at all whatsoever.

    I’d be inclined to let it all slide. But the fact that I actually paid for those chose seats weeks ago when the entire plane seats was available to me – is what bothers me. No refunds of any kind. No explanations. Just their hope that they can harass, intimidate, annoy customers to the point of them going away. Even threatening to call the police

    Someone needs to SHUT DOWN LUFTHANSA OPERATIONS IN FRANKFURT.

    I now require a hand written note from the CEO and explanation why their agents were pushing me to the wrong gates – deliberately – as a method for getting me to go away – and threading to call the police when they have no such authority. I NEED A HAND WRITTEN APOLOGY AND A REFUND FOR MY SEATS !

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