Airline Faces Discrimination Controversy Over Asking to Book Two Seats for Obese Passengers

"Being unable to board a plane due to body size is discrimination"
Air New Zealand "Will resolve through direct dialogue"

A New Zealand woman who was kicked off a plane for being larger than others received an apology from the airline.

On the 16th (local time), New Zealand media outlet One News reported the story of a woman who experienced an absurd situation after boarding an Air New Zealand flight from Napier to Auckland.

Angel Harding, a New Zealand woman who was removed from a plane for taking up too much seat space, protested the issue as "clear discrimination."
[Photo by 1NEWS homepage capture]

Angel Harding was waiting for takeoff after boarding the plane with a friend on the 15th. At this time, a flight attendant lowered the armrest that Harding had raised and pushed her arm inside the seat, causing Harding to feel pain.

The flight attendant raised her voice, telling Harding, "If you do not lower the armrest, we cannot take off."

If Harding lowered the armrest, she would have to spend the flight trapped in the seat. When Harding's friend protested, the flight attendant said, "If you do not lower the armrest, both of you will have to be removed from the plane," adding, "You should have purchased two seats each, a total of four seats. In the future, if you use Air New Zealand, you must book two seats."

Eventually, Harding and her friend had to get off the plane following the flight attendant's instructions.

Afterward, the airline provided Harding with accommodation and lounge access until her next flight, but Harding publicly protested, saying the airline discriminated against passengers based on weight.

Harding stated, "They (the airline) denied it, but I believe they made me and my friend get off the plane because of my physique and body size," adding, "This is clear discrimination."

The airline officially apologized in a statement. The airline said, "We strive to respect all customers and apologize for the experience this customer had," and added, "We will speak directly with the customer to address their concerns."

However, they emphasized, "To ensure passengers' safe and comfortable travel, we 'strongly' recommend contacting the airline before boarding if extra space is needed."

Meanwhile, some airlines encourage larger passengers to pay for additional seats and, if necessary, seat them where the adjacent seat is empty.

A low-cost airline in the United States has attracted attention for implementing a policy for 30 years that allows obese passengers to use the adjacent seat without extra charge.

Currently, New Zealand has no regulations regarding obese passengers, so whether to charge for additional seats is decided at the airline's discretion.

However, opinions are divided between those who see airline benefits for overweight passengers as considerate and those who claim "reverse discrimination," saying they were unable to board the plane because obese passengers demanded extra seats.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.