Women say they were removed from flight for being ‘too big’

Angel Harding and her friend boarded their Air New Zealand flight from Napier to Auckland last week when she felt a sudden pain in her left arm.

When she turned to see what the cause of the pain was, she saw a female flight attendant trying to push the armrest down while speaking to her in an "aggressive manner."

The attendant told Harding that the pilot couldn't take off until they were in the correct position.

This was followed by an announcement to the plane that all passengers would have to disembark because of an "inconvenience."

Speaking to 1News, Harding said: "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.'"

When all passengers had left the aircraft, Harding and her friend were separated from the others.

The pair, who are both wheelchair users due to medical conditions, were told they would need to rebook seats, with the next available flight not until two days later.

Harding pointed out that they could not afford two seats each and had nowhere to stay in the area.

She also questioned why an issue had arisen in Napier, when they had flown from Kerikeri to Auckland and then Auckland to Napier without a problem.

Air New Zealand offered to pay for the women's food, accommodation, and flights and allow them access to the Koru Lounge. In the end, they were able to board a flight later that day.

The women claim they were discriminated against because of their size and are seeking compensation for "hurt, humiliation and trauma."

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."

In a statement, 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.

But the airline "strongly recommends" customers get in touch with them 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."

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