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Airline 'doesn't trust men'
29/11/2005 07:45 - (SA)
Wellington - New Zealand airlines confirmed on Tuesday they have banned men from sitting next to unaccompanied children on flights.
The policy came to light after a man seated next to a child was asked to change seats with a woman sitting in another row.
Auckland man Mark Worsley said he was told by a flight attendant from Qantas - an Australian airline that also operates domestic flights in New Zealand - that the airline's policy stipulated that only women should sit next to unaccompanied children.
"At the time I was so gob smacked that I moved. I was so embarrassed and just stewed on it for the entire flight," Worsley told the New Zealand Herald.
The 37-year-old father of two-year-old twins was later told by the airline that Qantas wanted to err on the side of caution.
"I felt that it was totally discriminatory - besides the point of what the hell was I going to do on a crowded flight."
A Qantas spokesperson confirmed the airline does not allow unaccompanied children to sit next to men. The spokesperson said the airline believed customers wanted the policy.
Air New Zealand spokesperson Rosie Paul said the airline had a similar policy to that of Qantas.
When asked if the airline considered male passengers to be dangerous to children, Paul replied: "That's not what I said."
Green Party MP Keith Locke said on Tuesday the policy was a clear breach of human rights.
"It is prejudicial to presume that men can't be trusted to have contact with children unless they are related to them or are specially trained," Locke said.
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