Air New Zealand: Women 'humiliated' after being kicked off flight for being 'too big' - and told to book 'two seats each'

Two women were allegedly kicked off an Air New Zealand flight on Friday (15 March) for being “too big”. Angel Harding and her friend told 1News that the incident occurred on a flight from Napier to Auckland.

The pair claimed that they were told they should have booked two seats each. Ms Harding said she felt a pain in her left arm when a flight attendant was attempting to push the armrest down. She claims the flight attendant spoke to her in an “aggressive manner” because the pilot couldn't take off until they were in the correct position. 

An announcement on the loudspeaker then told passengers to disembark from the plane following an “inconvenience”. Ms Harding told 1News: “After [the attendant] 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 pair then realised that they were the “inconvenience”.

Both of the women require wheelchairs due to medical conditions, and were told they would need to rebook a flight. Due to high demand they were told that the next available flight was two days later on Sunday.

Ms Harding said she was confused because they had flown from Kerikeri to Auckland and then Auckland to Napier without a problem. She told the flight attendant that neither she nor her friend could afford two seats each and that she had no family to stay within the area.

Air New Zealand then offered to pay for the women's food, accommodation, and flights and allow them access to the Koru Lounge, before they were able to board a flight later that day. The women are now seeking compensation for the “hurt, humiliation and trauma” and claim they were discriminated against because of their size.

Ms Harding said: “My thoughts are they took me off because of my build, because of my size - our size had a lot to do with it. They didn't say it was, they said it was an inconvenience.”

An Air New Zealand spokesperson said if a customer requires extra room and there is space available, staff will work to re-accommodate them on the aircraft. However, the airline “strongly recommends” that customers get in touch with the airline before their flight to ensure a safe and comfortable journey. 

The spokesperson said: “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.”