An Orthodox Jewish passenger has said a United Airlines pilot forcibly removed him from an aeroplane bathroom while he was experiencing constipation, exposing his genitalia to other fliers during a flight from Tulum, Mexico, to Houston. Yisroel Liebb, of New Jersey, described his trip through allegedly unfriendly skies in a federal lawsuit this week against the airline and the US Department of Homeland Security, whose officers he said boarded the plane upon landing and took him away in handcuffs. Liebb and a fellow Orthodox Jewish traveller said the pilot made disparaging remarks about their faith. They said they were forced to miss a connecting flight to New York City while US Customs and Border Protection officers paraded them through an airport terminal, placed them in holding cells and searched their luggage. “CBP Officers responded to reports of a disturbance on a flight at the request of the airline,” CBP Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs Hilton Beckham said. “Due to the ongoing litigation, we are unable to provide any further comment.” United Airlines declined to comment. Messages seeking comment were left for a lawyer representing Liebb and the other traveller, Jacob Sebbag. In the lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, Liebb said he was in the bathroom in the back of the plane for about 20 minutes on January 28 when a flight attendant woke Sebbag from a nap and asked Sebbag to check on him. Liebb said he explained his gastrointestinal predicament and assured Sebbag that he would be out soon. Sebbag then relayed that to the flight attendant, the lawsuit said. Story has more.<br/>
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Singapore’s competition watchdog on March 21 said it has conditionally approved a proposed commercial cooperation between Singapore Airlines and All Nippon Airways (ANA) after accepting their commitments to not infringe competition laws. The decision comes 20 months after the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) received an updated joint application from the two airlines on providing flight services between the Republic and Japan. In assessing the proposal, CCCS noted in a statement that SIA and ANA have “substantial market shares” offering direct flights between Singapore and Tokyo, and have “sustained a high combined market share in recent years”. This is even as SIA and ANA are the main competitors on the Singapore-Tokyo and Tokyo-Singapore routes, CCCS noted, citing third-party feedback. “While there is evidence of expansion by an existing competitor in recent years, CCCS assessed that the impact on competition arising from the expansion is not conclusive,” the watchdog said. Significant barriers to entry and expansion also continue to exist, it added, making it difficult for both new and existing players to compete effectively with the two airlines. The carriers said their proposed cooperation would lead to several benefits. Among them is improved connectivity for both Singapore and Japan, with “consequential benefits” to the South-east Asian country’s aviation industry and tourism. The collaboration would also increase offerings for travellers while bringing “more competitive fares arising from the elimination of double marginalisation and better fare combinability”, the airlines said in their application.<br/>