Angel Harding and her friend say they were removed from an Air New Zealand flight shortly before take-off at Auckland Airport last Friday because of their size
Two women say they’ve been left traumatised after they were removed from a flight just before it took off because of their size, they claim.
Angel Harding says she and a friend were offloaded from an Air New Zealand flight which was turned around and taken back to the terminal as it was taxing towards the runway. The mortified passenger has complained about treatment from a flight attendant after boarding the flight from Napier to Auckland last Friday.
Angel explained that she was looking out of the window as the plane trundled along when she felt a sudden pain in her arm. She turned to see the flight attendant pushing the armrest down, which dug into her limb, she told 1 News.
The flight crew member loudly told her that the plane could not take off until all arm rests were down, in a manner Angel claimed was “quite aggressive”. After Angel’s friend suggested that the flight attendant should sit down while the plane was moving, the crew member reportedly said: “I can get you both kicked off this flight”.
She said the flight attendant then returned to the front of the aircraft and spoke into a phone. before the plane started to turn around. Then the flight attendant made an announcement that passengers would all need to exit the plane due to an “inconvenience”, Angel claimed.
The flight attendant returned to the two women and reportedly told them: “You two should have booked four seats, you two should have bought two seats each.” They were then told that they would have to purchase two seats each when they book a flight with Air New Zealand in the future, Angel recalled.
The two women, who were assisted with wheelchairs due to medical conditions, got off the jet with the rest of the passengers. A different Air New Zealand worker took them to one side and told them they would have to rebook and get two tickets each, 1 News reported. Due to high demand, the next flight with multiple seats available was two days away.
When Angel said she could not afford to do this, the airline offered accommodation and meals for the two, as well as their flights back on Sunday. They were also given complimentary access to the Koru Lounge while details were being sorted out, she claimed. Later that day they were told there were available seats on a flight and they were able to return home that night.
An Air New Zealand spokesperson told 1 News that if there is space available, and a customer requires extra room, their staff will work to re-accommodate them on the aircraft. The airline “strongly recommends” that customers get in touch with the airline before their flight “to ensure a safe and comfortable journey”.
“We are committed to treating all customers with respect and dignity and we apologise that these customers received an inconsistent experience. We will continue to work with the customer directly to address their concerns,” the spokesperson said;
Angel added: “We’re all humans, we’re all human, and I don’t ever want anyone to go through the trauma that we are going through right now.”
The Mirror has contacted Air New Zealand for additional comment.
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