It is interesting that the photo is about 10 years old, in those days there was the 2nd intifada and disruption to air traffic. Cyprus air space and Larnaca airport were highly overcrowded as well (stopover and refueling for foreign airlines that still flied to TLV were moved there) which had a domino effect in addition to the route modifications for security reasons.
My guess is that there is no problem elsewhere, because there are not that many Jewish cemeteries which are close to approach corridors, El Al probably avoids them as policy, and in the very rare case an observant Cohen is flying another airline at an airport where this is a concern (some mentioned La Guardia, which sounds possible) he will ask before check-in. Personnel are helpful with these issues, why shouldn’t they be helpful to a paying customer? Ground desk is there to help passengers give away more money to the airline, why should they not assist him and if requested, reschedule him, no matter how wierd his reasons?
I would think possibly this passenger did not think of the problem (a problem likely connected to disruption in Israeli airspace which was a constant of 2002-2003) and boarded the flight, realizing the problem after takeoff, maybe while looking at the flight route on the entertainment screen. At that point perhaps he did not know what to do and may have asked staff in the cabin, and the cockpit called the ground on his behalf, relayed the answer to the passenger, and bagged himself he got.
Those of us who fly regularly see all sort of wierd people doing wierd things, so many of them that wierdness hardly gets noticed. What I deduce from this fact, is that the world is huge and populated by many different people with different outlooks. What others deduce is that everyone has a right to be themselves, except for the “ghetto jews” who give a bad name to (insert here whatever you prefer). I can’t accept this. Did he made himself ridiculous? I don’t think he did, but – whatever – people are welcome to think so, if they must. Did he make someone else ridiculous? Someone else! Seems to me that statement is ridiculous, actually, too ridiculous to be debated.