Two women have claimed they were kicked off an Air New Zealand flight because of their 'size'. According to the New York Post, Angel Harding had been travelling home from Napier to Auckland with two other women earlier this month when the alleged incident happened.
She claims a flight attendant forcibly tried to lower her armrests on the ATR regional plane service, causing her physical pain. The attendant told Ms Harding that the pilot couldn't take off until they were in the correct position.
''I was kind of in shock. I moved forward, and she started yelling that the pilot couldn't take off unless all the armrests were down, and she was quite aggressive to me,'' she told 1 News.
She continued: “She was aggressively speaking to me. I couldn't believe what was happening to me.''
When Ms Harding's friend asked the crew member whether she should be seated as the plane was in motion, she replied saying, ''I can get you both kicked off this flight.''
The flight attendant then spoke into a phone before telling all passengers they would need to exit the plane due to an 'inconvenience'.
The plane then turned back and all the passengers were taken off. Ms Harding said she and her friend were subsequently not allowed to reboard and they were told that in future they should book two seats each.
"I believe they took me off because of my build, because of my size. They didn't explicitly say it was because of that, but they said it was an inconvenience," Ms Harding expressed.
When the pair informed Air New Zealand they couldn't afford the ticket, the airline footed the bill and covered all their expenses.
Later, Air New Zealand also issued an apology to two passengers. ''We are committed to treating all customers with respect and dignity and we apologize that these customers received an inconsistent experience. We will continue to work with the customer directly to address their concerns,'' an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
''We strongly recommend customers who require additional space get in touch with us before their flight to ensure a safe and comfortable journey. If there is space available on the aircraft and a customer requires extra room, our teams will accommodate them with an empty seat next to them. We work to ensure every customer has a safe and comfortable journey,'' the statement added.
Nevertheless, Ms Harding and her friend are seeking compensation for hurt, humiliation and trauma.
''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,'' she said.
