FAMILY AIR BROOM
B’klyn clan of 5 is booted by JetBlue
A Brooklyn couple claims JetBlue booted them and their three kids off a flight after their 1-yearold kicked the seat in front of her — but the airline says they were grounded for flying off the handle.
Mandy Ifrah, 35, tearfully told The Post on Wednesday that she, her husband, Tamir Raanan, 37, and their young daughters were buckled up for takeoff June 21 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for their flight back to the Big Apple.
“It was 8:30 p.m., and the flight was already 40 minutes delayed. The kids were cranky, my baby was sitting on my lap,” the distraught mom recalled at her East 70th Street home in Bergen Beach.
“She is about to have a bottle and kicked the lady in front of us. The lady huffed and puffed. She got up and said, ‘You should hold your baby’s feet.’ I said, ‘She is a baby — what would you like me to do? I’m sorry, and I am trying my best to control the situation right now.’ ”
The fuming flier moved to an empty adjacent seat, and Ifrah thought the matter was resolved. But the pilot then returned to the gate, Ifrah said.
A JetBlue supervisor who came aboard was heard on cellphone video telling family to get off the plane without giving an explanation.
“He wouldn’t give me an answer, he told me I was blacklisted until we have an investigation,” the mom said.
But the airline countered that it wasn’t cranky little Eden’s legs that got the family the boot — but rather her parents’ “physical threats and profanities” against the other passenger.
“The aircraft door was reopened, and our airports team politely asked the customers to step off to discuss the situation,” JetBlue said. “The customers refused repeated requests, and our crewmembers deplaned the entire aircraft. Law enforcement escorted [the family] out of the gate area, and we provided a refund.”
But the family’s lawyer, David Templer, lashed back, denying that his clients were belligerent.
After being booted, the parents were stranded in Florida with Eden and her 3- and 8-year-old sisters while their luggage continued to New York. The bags were then inexplicably returned to Florida, and it took a week for the the family to get them back, Templer said.
The family was forced to pay $2,000 for airline tickets and other expenses the next day — but JetBlue refunded only $500, Templer said.
Meanwhile, JetBlue has barred Raanan and his wife from flying with the airline. The family is considering suing the carrier.