The group’s director arrested and handcuffed
France’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that Minister Jean-Noël Barrot had contacted Vueling CEO Carolina Martinoli to express “deep concern” over the removal of the French Jewish youth group. Barrot also requested additional information to determine “whether the minors were discriminated against because of their religion.” A similar request was submitted to the Spanish ambassador to France.
Martinoli assured Barrot that Vueling has launched an internal investigation and will share the findings with authorities in both France and Spain, according to the ministry.
Vueling denied the incident was motivated by religious discrimination, stating the passengers were removed after repeatedly interfering with the aircraft’s emergency equipment and disrupting the flight crew’s safety demonstration.
Spain’s Civil Guard also said the group consisted of French citizens and that officers involved were unaware of the passengers’ religious background. A spokesperson added that the plane’s captain ordered their removal from Valencia’s Manises Airport after they ignored repeated instructions from the crew.
Pilot who removed Jewish teens once trained 9/11 hijackers
Over the weekend, it was revealed that the pilot who ordered the removal of Jewish passengers from a Vueling flight was Iván Chirivella Cruz, a Spanish aviator who once unknowingly trained two of the 9/11 hijackers at a Florida flight school. The revelation, first raised by Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, was later confirmed by the airline.
In a statement, Vueling acknowledged that Chirivella, a native of the Canary Islands, has been flying with the airline since 2006 and was indeed the captain of the disputed flight. “Over his 19-year career at Vueling, he has accumulated more than 12,500 flight hours, operating routes connecting over 30 countries,” the airline said.
“In addition to his role as an airline captain, Iván Chirivella – like many pilots – also works as an instructor for aviation professionals at an independent flight school. In this capacity, he has trained more than 100 pilots from around the world in flight operations.”
According to a report in The Telegraph, Chirivella called in Spain’s Guardia Civil to remove the group due to “disruptive behavior” and a “confrontational attitude” toward the cabin crew.
Businessman Martín Varsavsky, speaking to the Spanish Jewish outlet Enfoque Judío, defended Chirivella, saying he has known and trusted him for over two decades, dating back to when he hired him as his private pilot after the 9/11 attacks.
“He’s devastated,” said Varsavsky. “The hijackers deceived him, like they did many others. No one wanted to hire him after that, but I did—and I’ve never doubted him since. In all these years, I have never seen even a hint of antisemitism in him.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Spain’s Federation of Jewish Communities expressed concern over the incident and urged Vueling to release documentation of what transpired on the flight.
