Pilot who kicked over 50 Jewish children off plane reportedly taught 9/11 terrorists to fly

Vueling has denied allegations of “any form of discrimination” and said their removal had nothing to do with the fact they were Jewish. The airline said that the reason they were taken off the plane was because they had disrupted and interfered with safety equipment.

According to the airline, the pilot who ordered the Jewish passengers removed was a Canarian aviator with over twenty years experience named Ivan Chirivella. 

In a statement, Vueling said: “Iván Chirivella, originally from the Canary Islands and a pilot at Vueling since 2006, operated flight. Over his 19-year career at Vueling, he has accumulated more than 12,500 flight hours, operating routes connecting over 30 countries. 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.”

Chirivella has previoulsy made headlines after his realisation that he taught Mohamed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi to fly at Jones Aviation prior to the attacks of 9/11.

A year before the World Trade Center attacks, Chirivella flew with the two future hijackers nearly every day for several months.

In the wake of 9/11, when under investigation, Chirivella reportedly told police that the pair were aggressive in training and even tried to steal control of the plane multiple times and detailed his experiences in his book Cómplice inocente or “complicit” in English.

Denying the claims of antisemitism, and standing by its stated safety reason for removing the children, a Vueling spokesperson said: “The safety of our passengers is and will always remain, our top priority.

"The crew’s intervention on board was motivated exclusively by behaviours that compromised the integrity of the flight, as well as the safety of passengers.

"A group of teenage passengers adopted a highly confrontational attitude, jeopardising the smooth running of the flight.

"The group inappropriately handled safety equipment and actively interrupted the mandatory demonstration of [safety] procedures, repeatedly ignoring the cabin crew’s instructions.

“Despite numerous warnings, the inappropriate behaviour persisted, leading to the immediate activation of security protocols.”

The airline insisted that staff acted “in accordance with Vueling procedures” and claimed that some of the group “adopted a violent attitude” towards police, leading to an arrest.

"We firmly deny any claim linking our crew’s decision to the religious expression of the affected passengers, which we completely respect,” they went on, adding: This decision was taken solely and exclusively to guarantee the safety of all passengers.

"At Vueling, we categorically reject any form of discrimination, without exception,” the statement concluded.