Removal of two Air New Zealand passengers causes flight to be delayed

The incident on board the Air NZ plane resulted in a delay of 25 minutes. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A flight from Wellington to Auckland was delayed by nearly half an hour this morning due to the removal of two passengers from the plane.

Air New Zealand Chief Operational Integrity and Safety Officer David Morgan confirmed two customers were removed from flight NZ424 as they were not following crew instructions.

He said the incident resulted in a delay of 25 minutes, and apologised for the inconvenience to passengers.

A police spokesperson said police were notified the two people were asked to disembark from the flight for not following airline crew instructions and police staff accompanied them back to the check-in desk.

A passenger on the flight said they witnessed an elderly woman led from the plane with teary eyes.

The flight captain told passengers the airline would take steps to follow through on the incident.

“They may find themselves not flying with us for a wee while,” he said.

The Air New Zealand Code of Carriage lists several potential reasons for refusing carriage or service to a passenger, including the passenger refusing to obey instructions, causing offence or discomfort to others, or causing or involving risk to themselves or others.