Family kicked off flight over ‘body odor’ sues American Airlines for discrimination

A family kicked off a flight purportedly because of their body odor believes it was actually religious discrimination, according to a lawsuit.

Now they’ve filed a lawsuit against American Airlines.

Yehuda Yosef Adler, his wife, Jennie, and their toddler child boarded the flight last year from Miami to Detroit.

About five minutes after they sat down, a gate agent walked onto the plane and told the family there was an emergency, according to the lawsuit.

Once off the plane, the agent told the family that the pilot had booted them from the flight because one of them smelled bad, according to the lawsuit. Asked which of them smelled, the agent declined to answer, saying only that they had “extremely offensive body odor,” the lawsuit says.

The Adlers told the agent they’d showered that morning.

“In response, (the) agent made (a) disparaging and derogatory statement telling the Adlers that he knew that Orthodox Jews take baths once a week,” the lawsuit says.

The Michigan family is Jewish. On the flight, Yehuda wore a yarmulke and Jennie had on a shaytel, or sheitel, a wig worn by some married Orthodox Jewish women. The family believes their removal had nothing to do with body odor.

“But for their race, religion, and nationality, the airline would not have lied about them smelling, would not have removed them from the flight, and would not have refused them re-boarding,” the lawsuit says.

On Thursday, Fort Worth-based American Airlines reiterated previous statements that passengers and employees had complained about the body odor, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The company said the family was removed “out of concern for the comfort of our other passengers,” NBC News reported.

“Our team members took care of the family and provided hotel accommodations and meals, and rebooked them on a flight to Detroit the next morning,” American Airlines told the Detroit Free Press in a statement. “None of the decisions made by our team in handling this sensitive situation were based on the Adler’s religion.”

The lawsuit, which states “plaintiffs suffered nasty, discriminatory and racially charged conduct by the defendant,” seeks punitive damages to be decided by a jury and attorney’s fees.

The lawsuit is filed in federal court in Houston.