Airport apologised to author detained by staff

An airport has apologised to an Israeli author who was detained and questioned in what he has described as "an incident of pure antisemitism."

In November 2024, writer Alon Penzel was travelling from London Luton Airport to Tel Aviv, Israel, when he was stopped by security staff.

He said he was "publicly abused and humiliated" when guards and police questioned him in front of other passengers.

A London Luton Airport spokesperson said while the airport does "not accept every aspect of Mr Penzel's complaint", it admitted the incident fell short of its high customer service standards and apologised.

Penzel had been wearing a sweater printed with the words "End Jew Hatred" and carrying a placard promoting his book about the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

He told the BBC he had been holding the sign facing his body because it was too large for his luggage.

The author accused the security guard of making "derogatory comments" about the attack and Israel's history during the encounter.

He said: "My passport was taken from me and retained for a period, and I was required to wait in a restricted area while CCTV footage was reviewed."

In February, chief operations officer Neil Thompson wrote to Penzel offering a "sincere apology" and said "enhanced training" had been introduced to ensure all passengers were "treated with fairness, courtesy, and respect."

The letter added: "We would also like to provide our clear and unequivocal assurance to our Jewish and Israeli passengers, and to you personally, that you are welcome at London Luton Airport."

A London Luton Airport spokesperson told the BBC: "Airport staff were alerted to the presence of a passenger who was carrying a placard at the boarding gate for a flight to Tel Aviv.

To ensure the safety of passengers, police were asked to attend before Mr Penzel was allowed to board his flight and continue his journey.

"Whilst we do not accept every aspect of Mr Penzel's complaint, we recognise that there were elements of this interaction that did not fully meet our high customer service standards we strive to deliver, and for that we apologise.

"However, we will never compromise on safety and security, which remains our top priority."

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