Passenger Refuses to Sit Next to Woman on Flight to Germany, Assaults Flight Attendant

On June 1, a 29-year-old German citizen of Turkish descent refused to sit next to a woman on a Turkish Airlines flight from Samsun, Turkey, to Düsseldorf, citing Sharia law as his reason. When a flight attendant confronted him about his refusal, he struck her in the face. Upon landing in Düsseldorf, German federal police were called to the scene. The suspect admitted to the assault and verbally abused officers in Turkish, leading to an additional charge of insulting police. The federal police confirmed the ongoing investigation into the incident. This case follows previous occurrences where ultra-Orthodox Jewish passengers refused to sit beside women on flights, sometimes resulting in women being forced to move seats. One such case led to a lawsuit against El Al Airlines, which ruled that requiring passengers to comply with religious seating demands against their will violates anti-discrimination laws. Following that ruling, El Al committed to reinforcing its policies with staff to comply with legal standards.