Two women claim they were kicked off an Air New Zealand flight because of their “shape”.according tonew york postAngel Harding was returning home to Auckland from Napier with two other women when the alleged incident occurred earlier this month.
She claimed that on an ATR regional flight, a flight attendant forcibly tried to lower her armrest, causing her physical pain. The flight attendant told Ms Harding the pilot had to be in the right position to take off.
“I was kind of shocked. I walked forward and she started yelling that the pilot couldn’t take off unless all the armrests were down, and she was very aggressive towards me,” she told 1 news.
She continued: “She spoke very aggressively to me. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me.”
When Ms Harding’s friend asked the cabin crew if she should be seated while the plane was moving, she replied: “I can get you both off the plane.”
Flight attendants then told all passengers over the phone that they needed to leave the plane due to an “inconvenience.”
The plane then returned and all passengers were taken off the plane. Ms Harding said she and her friend were subsequently not allowed to reboard the flight and were told that in future they should book two seats each.
“I believe they fired me because of my size and shape. They didn’t explicitly say it was because of that, but they said it would be an inconvenience,” Ms Harding said.
When the pair told Air New Zealand they couldn’t afford the tickets, the airline picked up the tab and covered all their costs.
Air New Zealand subsequently apologized to the two passengers. “We are committed to treating all of our customers with respect and deeply regret that these customers received an inconsistent experience. We will continue to work directly with customers to address their concerns,” an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
“We strongly encourage passengers who require additional space to contact us before their flight to ensure a safe and comfortable journey. If space is available on the aircraft and a customer requires additional space, our team will provide them with an empty seat next to them. We strive to Ensuring every passenger has a safe and comfortable journey,” the statement added.
Nonetheless, Ms Harding and her friends are seeking compensation for harm, humiliation and trauma.
“We’re all human, we’re all human beings, and I don’t want anyone to go through the trauma that we’re going through right now,” she said.
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