JetBlue is disputing family members’ characterization of an episode that prompted their removal from a June 21 flight and said it is considering barring the family from flying with the airline.
Through a press release from their attorney, Tamir Raanan and Mandy Ifrah said they were returning home to New York from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with their three children when their 1-year-old, Eden, began kicking a seat in front of them as the plane was about to depart.
The statement said Ifrah and the female passenger in the seat “exchanged a few words” before the woman moved to an empty seat next to her. According to the family, Ifrah apologized to the passenger, but a flight attendant nevertheless asked the pilot to return to the gate, and the family was removed from the flight.
But in a statement to ABC News, JetBlue said the encounter was more serious and “included physical threats and profanities against a nearby customer.”
JetBlue said a crew member asked the family to step off the plane to discuss what happened. After they refused “repeated requests,” the crew deplaned all passengers, and law enforcement officers escorted the family from the gate area, according to the airline.