Swissair apologises to family 'kicked off plane' after autistic child began crying
Cabin crew allegedly apologised to other passengers rather than asking the family if they needed help
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An airline has apologised after an alleged incident where an autistic child and his family were removed from a plane.
The Zalmanovich family, from HodSharon, Israel, claim they were told to leave after their eight-year-old son began to cry just before the connecting flight from Zurich to Geneva was scheduled to depart.
The boy’s mother told the Israel Hayom newspaper that cabin crew on the Swiss International Air Lines flight apologised to other passengers rather than asking the family if they needed help after the child became ill.
"They shamefully kicked us off the flight. We were left with our luggage, shocked and humiliated," Ms Zalmanovich said.
"It was 10pm and luckily we were able to catch the last train to Geneva."
Swissair, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lufthansa, reportedly agreed to restore the family’s seats on a return flight for 2,000 francs (£1,356), but they declined to be flown back by the airline and took an El Al flight instead.
"We are aware of this deeply regrettable incident," Swissair said in a statement to The Independent.
"We are still clarifying exactly what happened and why with all the parties involved, so we are unable to make any further comment at the present time. But it can be assured that our staff in Tel Aviv are in close contact with the family concerned."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments