Disturbing passenger forces Auckland-bound Air NZ flight to land in Melbourne

“The plane was met by police upon arrival in Melbourne,” Morgan said.

“The flight continued to Auckland and landed at 8.50am with a delay of approximately 90 minutes.”

“Our crew handled this incident well, but incidents like this cause concern for customers and our employees, and we do not tolerate this type of behavior on our aircraft.

“We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the diversion, but this was done for the safety of everyone on board and safety is something we will not compromise on.”

Although most of the airline’s flights operate without disruption to passengers, violations do occur from time to time.

In December, Air NZ said it had encountered 200 incidents of unruly behaviour, a post-pandemic high.

Morgan said at the time that the severity of the incidents and the impact on other travelers would become more severe towards the end of the year.

“Unfortunately, we have people flying with us who refuse to follow instructions, are abusive or disruptive,” he said.

In November, two passengers were kicked off an Air NZ flight before taking off from Wellington to Auckland after ignoring crew instructions and a safety briefing.

Air NZ’s Conditions of Carriage outline some of the reasons why an airline may remove a passenger from an aircraft. On its website the terms and conditions section reads:

“The health and safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority. We may refuse carriage or terminate service to anyone who puts the safety of other passengers or our crew at risk or engages in unacceptable behavior, even if they have a confirmed ticket.”