Luton airport issues apology to Israeli author for 2024 incident

Luton airport has apologised and announced the institution of further training for its staff after an incident in which an Israeli author was approached by a member of airport staff who subsequently called the police to detain him.

In November 2024, Alon Penzel, who had compiled first-person testimonies of the Hamas mass-terror attack in a book called Testimonies without boundaries: Israel: October 7th 2023, was returning from a visit to the UK in which he had spoken about his publication at an event held at the House of Lords. He had already cleared security at Luton airport for his return trip when he was approached by a member of airport staff.

As Penzel told Times of Israel, he had been carrying a placard promoting his book, which had been too large to fit in his luggage, although he carried it facing his body so it would be difficult to read. He was also wearing a jumper at the time emblazoned with the words “end Jew hatred”.

He told the paper that “the officer saw the name of my book on the placard and started accusing me”, saying that the airport staff member described 7 October as “only one incident since the illegal occupation began” and warned that the sign could be “considered offensive to passengers in the airport.”

Penzel told the Israeli paper that the staff member subsequently called airport security and police officers, who took Penzel placard and passport and questioned him aggressively, before ultimately letting him go without an apology.

The Israeli subsequently initiated legal proceedings against the airport, assisted by the UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) organisation.

As reported by UKLFI, last month the airport wrote directly to Penzel to offer a “sincere and unreserved apology for your experience at London Luton Airport.

The safety and security of the airport is our highest priority, and we are required to uphold strict safety and security standards at all times. However, we fully acknowledge that your experience fell below the customer service standards we expect and strive to uphold.

Following your complaint, we have introduced enhanced training for our staff to reinforce our commitment to ensuring that every passenger is treated with fairness, courtesy, and respect.

“We also provide our clear and unequivocal assurance to our Jewish and Israeli passengers — and to you personally — that you are always welcome at London Luton Airport. Discrimination of any kind has no place in our organisation.”

UKLFI also said that they had been told that the security guard who had originally stopped Mr Penzel no longer works at Luton Airport.

Pensel, who described the incident at the airport as “shocking and upsetting”, said that he welcomed both “the apology and the clear assurance that Jewish and Israeli passengers are welcome at London Luton Airport. I hope that what happened to me will lead to greater awareness and sensitivity going forward.”

A spokesperson for UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) commented: “No passenger should ever be detained or questioned because of their nationality, religion or the peaceful expression of their identity. We welcome the airport’s apology and its commitment to improved training. This case highlights the importance of ensuring that security powers are exercised lawfully and without discrimination.”

In a public statement, however, the airport offered a less categorical apology, saying that “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.”

“Our training reinforces our firm commitment that all the diverse communities we serve are always treated with fairness, courtesy, and respect. However, we can never compromise on safety and security, which remains our top priority.”

Jewish News asked the airport for more information relating to the additional training now in place, including whether specific elements of it pertained to Jews and Israel. The airport was also asked if it had consulted with any key UK Jewish organisations before instituting its further training. No answers were received to these questions.