Air New Zealand's 'Weight Discrimination' Controversy
A New Zealand airline is facing controversy for ejecting a female passenger from a plane because of her large body size.
On the 17th (local time), New Zealand local media '1 News' reported the story of Angel Harding, a woman who was kicked off a plane due to her physique. Harding had tried to board an Air New Zealand flight from Napier to Auckland two days earlier, on the 15th.
At the time, Harding was seated on the plane looking out the window when she suddenly felt pain in her left arm. When she turned around, she saw a flight attendant roughly slamming down her armrest. The attendant told Harding, "The plane cannot take off unless all armrests are down."
Ms. Angel Harding, who claims to have been discriminated against by an airline due to her weight. [Image source=1news news footage]
Harding described the situation, saying, "She spoke in a very aggressive manner," and added, "The flight attendant only stopped yelling after I asked her to stop."
The seats next to Harding and her friend were empty, but because the flight attendant forcibly pushed down the armrests, Harding's body became trapped between the seats. When her friend protested, the flight attendant warned both of them, saying, "If you do not lower the armrests, both of you will be removed from the plane."
Harding lamented, "The flight attendant told us, 'You should have booked four seats because of your size.'" After the dispute, the two were ultimately forced to disembark from the plane.
A passenger who was on the same flight told the media, "I was very shocked when I later found out what had happened," and added, "When I looked back, both of them were crying." Harding and her friend received accommodation and lounge access until their next flight, but publicly protested the airline for discriminating against passengers based on weight.
In response, Air New Zealand issued a statement saying, "We promise to respect and treat all customers with dignity, and we apologize that this passenger had such an experience," adding, "If a passenger requires extra space, the airline will accommodate that."
Measuring Average Passenger Weight When Boarding Planes Also Controversial in Korea
Measuring the standard weight of passengers including carry-on luggage at Gimpo Airport domestic terminal. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Meanwhile, in Korea, there was also controversy when passengers' weights were measured upon boarding planes. Earlier, domestic airlines measured passengers' weights at airports such as Gimpo Airport and Incheon International Airport in January.
Some netizens expressed concerns, saying, "Why should sensitive information be given to airlines?" and "Are they going to charge fees based on weight in the future?"
However, the weight measurements were conducted in accordance with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 'Aircraft Weight and Balance Management Standards.' Airlines regularly measure the average weight of luggage and passengers and reflect this in flight operations. The collected weight information was also reportedly anonymized.
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