Two “traumatized” women were removed from an Air New Zealand flight amid claims of discrimination due to their size. They are now seeking compensation.
A woman named Angel Harding complained about her treatment by a flight attendant after she boarded a plane from Napier to Auckland, New Zealand, last Friday (March 15).
The aircraft had reversed its direction on the taxiway after the plane had already begun moving toward the runway for takeoff.
Subsequently, all passengers were required to disembark and leave the plane. Angel reportedly said she and her friend were not allowed to reboard. They were also told that, in the future, they should book two seats each.
Angel Harding and her friend were removed from an Air New Zealand flight amid claims of discrimination due to their size
Image credits: Te Karere TVNZ
Angel reportedly revealed she was looking out of the window as the plane was taxiing (when an aircraft moves along its designated pathways) when she felt a sudden pain in her left arm.
She said she turned to see the flight attendant forcing the armrest into her arm, 1News reported.
“I was kind of was in shock,” she told the New Zealand network, “I moved forward, and she started yelling to me that the pilot can’t take off unless all the armrests were down, and she was quite aggressive to me.”
Angel continued: “She was speaking to me in an aggressive manner.
“I just couldn’t believe what was happening to me.”
Angel reportedly signaled for the flight attendant to stop by raising her left palm before her friend intervened while the plane was still moving on the tarmac.
The traveling woman recalled: “She said, ‘Don’t you think you should be seated if the plane is in motion?’ And then [the flight attendant] looked at both of us and said, ’I can get you both kicked off this flight.’”
As per 1News, Angel said the flight attendant returned to the front of the plane and spoke into a phone.
Angel revealed she was looking out of the window as the plane was taxiing when a flight attendant forced the armrest into her arm
Image credits: Te Karere TVNZ
Both women went on to notice the aircraft turning around before the flight attendant made an announcement that passengers would all need to exit the plane due to an “inconvenience.”
Angel explained: “After she hung up the phone, she came over and said, ’You two should have booked four seats, you two should have bought two seats each.’”
The perturbed woman mentioned that while they didn’t encounter any issues flying to Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, they were informed by Air New Zealand that future bookings would require purchasing two seats.
Image credits: Te Karere TVNZ
The two friends, who were assisted with wheelchairs due to medical conditions, disembarked with the rest of the passengers but were moved to the side and left with another Air New Zealand worker, 1News reported.
Kathleen Tuhiwai Wharemate, who was traveling with the pair but was seated separately on the flight, was also wheelchair assisted off the plane and wasn’t aware there was an issue until she saw them during the disembarking, as per the New Zealander broadcaster.
Kathleen reportedly said she was devastated when the three women learned that Angel and her friend were “the inconvenience” and were not going to rejoin the flight.
Angel said she was informed by Air New Zealand that future bookings would require purchasing two seats
Image credits: Jeffry Surianto
She recalled: “As I was pushed [back] out to the plane, I looked back and saw them both crying, and I was crying, and it was just so sad leaving them behind.”
Angel recounted that despite not receiving an explanation for their removal from the flight, Air New Zealand offered accommodation, meals, and complimentary lounge access due to the unavailability of seats for them to rebook until Sunday (March 17).
However, as they were coming to terms with their situation, they were told there were available seats on a flight later that day, and they were able to return home that night, 1News reported.
Image credits: Suhyeon Choi
In a statement, an Air New Zealand spokesperson said if there is space available and a customer requires extra room, their staff will work to re-accommodate them on the aircraft, but they “strongly recommend” that customers get in touch with the airline before their flight “to ensure a safe and comfortable journey.”
They further noted: “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.”
You can watch Angel’s testimony below:
Airline expert Irene King reportedly said safety is a paramount concern for every carrier, and it drives their policies, but it comes down to the discretion of the individual airline.
Some global airlines will encourage larger passengers to pay for an extra seat, as Irene told 1News: “In New Zealand, we don’t have any prescriptive legislation of that nature so it’s very much at the discretion of the airline.”
Meanwhile, Angel has claimed she and her friend were discriminated against, as she said: “My thoughts are they took me off because of my build, because of my size.
“As to myself and our build, our size had a lot to do with it.
“They didn’t say it [was], they said it was an inconvenience.”
Angel reportedly said she wanted to speak out against how they were treated to say that that kind of behavior “is not OK.”
She said: “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.”
Angel and her friend are reportedly now seeking compensation for hurt, humiliation, and trauma.
“There’s no need to humiliate,” a reader commented
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