Plane Maker Offers to Add Synagogues
Airbus has offered to outfit five planes with synagogues in a bid to sell them to the Israeli national carrier, El Al, a spokesman for the European aircraft consortium said Friday.
The synagogue would be in the lower deck of Airbus Industries’ A340 plane, with enough prayer space for a dozen people, said Airbus spokesman Alain Dupiech.
The ark holding the Torah scroll could be mounted on a movable track so that it always faces Jerusalem.
Dupiech said the synagogue is one of several options offered to El Al. The lower deck space in the A340, which holds about 380 passengers, could also be used for additional restrooms or lounges.
On El Al flights, religious passengers often perform the morning prayer, or Shaharit, at the back of the plane, causing congestion.
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