DETROIT – A Southfield family that was kicked off a flight last year after complaints from passengers about body odor is suing American Airlines.
The Adler family said they were returning to Michigan from a vacation in Miami in January 2019 when they were removed from their flight.
Recommended Videos
READ: Couple furious after being kicked off flight over body odor complaints
“My wife is embarrassed in front of hundreds of people because someone says we have body odor,” Yossi Adler said. “It’s embarrassing. I just want someone to tell me the truth. What happened?”
Yossi and Jennie Adler and their 19-month-old daughter were escorted off their flight almost immediately after taking their seats, the couple said.
The suit claims they were kicked off the flight for “extremely offensive body odor.”
Shortly after the incident, the family said they believed their removal was less about their hygiene and more about them being Jewish.
“They’re holding their nose, like, ‘It stinks. It stinks,’” Yossi Adler said. “That’s what was so upsetting. The man said, ‘Oh, you Orthodox people don’t take showers.’ That’s what he told me. He thought we don’t take showers. I’m like, ‘That is absurd.’”
According to the lawsuit, the Adlers, who are Orthodox Jews, “were subjected to discriminatory treatment by American Airline employees in violation of federal anti-bias laws.”