Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Dunedin diverted to Wellington after incident involving disruptive passenger

An Air New Zealand flight was diverted to Wellington after a mid-air incident involving a “disruptive passenger” who was removed from the plane on landing.

A passenger on the plane told the Herald the flight was full of parents and their children making their way from Auckland to Dunedin to settle in for the start of the university year.

He said the woman was relatively coherent when she boarded the flight, but her condition deteriorated from there.

The passenger said the woman appeared to start flirting with the person sitting next to her calling them “cute”.

She then lifted her skirt, the passenger said.

“It was pretty out of it ... she had put her feet up on this guy’s seat in front of her and he turned around and got a shock.”

Air New Zealand chief operational integrity and safety officer Captain David Morgan said Flight NZ679 from Auckland to Dunedin was diverted to Wellington this morning.

Morgan said there was an incident involving a disruptive passenger on board.

“Incidents like this are distressing for our customers and people, and we have zero tolerance for any disruptive behaviour on board our aircraft.

“The aircraft was met by police in Wellington and is continuing on to Dunedin.”

Flight NZ679 has been diverted to Wellington. Photo / Flightracker

Wellington Airport external relations manager Phil Rennie confirmed the flight had “briefly stopped” to offload a passenger.

A police spokeswoman said the passenger was met by police at the terminal gate and taken to hospital to be assessed by medical professionals.

One photo shows the woman’s legs raised in the air with her feet almost touching the screen above.

The passenger said she looked agitated and estimated she was aged in her 40s.

“They decided to land the plane immediately because she was getting worse and worse.”

A call was made throughout the cabin for anyone with experience in security or restraining people, they said.

Two men came forward. They tried to wrap a seatbelt around the seat to secure her but she slipped out of it, the passenger said.

They stayed with her and held her arms to keep her from moving, the passenger said.

When the flight landed in Wellington, two to three security officers boarded the plane and escorted the woman off in a wheelchair, the passenger said.

“I don’t think she really understood what was going on.”

The passenger praised the Air New Zealand crew for how they handled the situation.

Another passenger on board the plane told the Herald the pilot apologised for “behaviour unacceptable on a flight”.

The passenger said they had to circle three or four times to use up fuel before landing.

Air New Zealand ground crew boarded the plane in Wellington to serve passengers water and be “extra friendly to people”, the passenger said.

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.