An Orthodox Hasidic Jew was removed from an Air Canada Jazz flight from Montreal
to New York City on September 1.

The man started to pray when the flight was heading to the runway. In normal Jewish manner, the prayer involved the man covering his head with a shawl and "rocking back and forth" while reading from a book.

A passenger said:

"The attendant actually recognized out loud that he wasn't a Muslim and that she was sorry for the situation but they had to ask him to leave".

The poor man spoke neither English nor French and hence could not communicate with anyone.

Air Canada Jazz termed the situation "delicate," but says it received more than one complaint about the man's behaviour. The crew had to act in the interest of the majority of passengers, said Jazz spokeswoman Manon Stewart.

He was put on the following flight.