He was brought under heavy security and taken up the back steps rather than walking up through the terminal. A SWAT team covered him. Fortunately, the flight went without a hitch. Until recently, El Al also offered a section near the rear of its planes for families. Apart from the prisoners, there's a good reason for keeping families in the back.
Adults traveling with young children tend to take longer to board and deplane.
If they're at the front of the aircraft, they could prevent the rest of the passengers from making a speedy exit. At the back, families are closer to the bathroom, where diapers can get changed and moms can nurse their infants in relative privacy. Plus, the back of the plane is thought to be the safest place during a crash. The possibility that she and her children will be seated close to a convict is troubling to travelers like Ann Link, owner of a photo preservation business in Portland, Ore., and mother of four children. I feel as if we're discriminated against if we fly with children.