Prisoners on planes: Thousands of inmates flown commercially and privately in past five years

A passenger was shocked and left feeling a tad nervous after boarding a commercial flight to find a woman seated nearby who was handcuffed and flanked by uniformed guards wearing protective vests.

The woman, who was travelling from Auckland to Wellington on an Air New Zealand flight a few months ago, said there had been no communication with passengers about a prisoner, who was also seated near a young child, being on board.

She said the situation was “slightly concerning” and felt the obvious safety measures pointed to some real level of risk.

“Flying with a cuffed inmate is a little unnerving, it makes you think of all those movies where it doesn’t turn out so well,” the passenger, who did not want to be named, told NZME.

“I don’t know what she had done but there was obviously enough risk to have her cuffed the entire flight.

A female prisoner was on board an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Wellington, flanked by Corrections officers. She was later spotted being walked through the domestic terminal, as pictured. Photo / Supplied

“It would have almost been better if the guards weren’t in uniform. I don’t think I would have ever noticed them - or her - if it wasn’t for their uniform and security vests.”

Despite the woman’s apprehension, the prisoner did not cause any problems and sat quietly throughout the flight, she said.

The prisoner was later spotted walking through Wellington Airport’s domestic terminal, handcuffed and surrounded by four guards.

In response to questions about the inmate being on the flight, Air New Zealand said it could not share details on individual passengers.

But as it turns out, she is one of thousands of prisoners who have flown, commercially and privately, around New Zealand over the past five years, as inmates are moved between courts, prisons and health providers.

Department of Corrections figures released to NZME under the Official Information Act revealed 5174 prisoners, more than 90 per cent of whom were male, have been transported across at least 412 flights from 2019 through to November 8, last year, meaning multiple prisoners were on the same flight in some cases.

However, due to how Corrections extracts its data, some inmates have been counted more than once if there was more than one leg to their plane journey.

The handcuffed prisoner was seated at the back of the plane, near members of the public, including a young child. Photo / Supplied

While the department did not provide details on the types of offending committed by prisoners being flown, NZME is aware that among them was a young man newly convicted of murder.

He was flown commercially from New Plymouth early last year after a hearing where he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

But at what cost?

The figures show that at least 151 of the flights during the five years were privately chartered and 261 were commercial. But the travel costs remain unknown.

Corrections refused to reveal the cost of the charter flights, citing commercial sensitivity, and declined to disclose the cost of the commercial flights stating the information could not be made available without “substantial collation or research”.

Almost two decades ago, however, the department released figures to the Dominion Post revealing it had spent $684,128 on private carriers in transferring 6854 inmates between prisons by plane or bus. The spending period covered July 1, 2005, until around March the following year.

While the recent figures show the majority of flights taken were commercial, Leigh Marsh, commissioner of custodial services, told NZME that Corrections primarily used approved airline charter companies, rather than commercial flights, for air transport.

“Charter flights enable us to transfer a large number of prisoners around the country at a time, which is more cost-effective, on flights that only transport prisoners and Corrections staff.”

He said Corrections ran at least two charter flights a month, subject to plane availability.

The prisoner was one of thousands who have been transported by plane in the past five years. Photo / Supplied

“Commercial flights are used on an ad hoc basis when this is required and it is assessed that it is safe to do so – for example, when a transfer is required at short notice or for a specific date (such as for a court hearing) which does not align with the timings of charter flights.”

Maximum security prisoners were not allowed to fly commercially and prisoners of lower classifications could only take a commercial flight if the department deemed it safe.

Still, other passengers were not told if a prisoner was on board. Marsh said that was for “operational security reasons”.

Why are inmates flown, anyway?

Corrections carry out tens of thousands of prisoner escorts between prisons, courts, specialist medical facilities and rehabilitation providers each year, using various transport methods.

Marsh said plane transfers were predominantly used to manage the prison populations between the North and South Islands, but inmates may also be flown between North Island prisons.

Flying prisoners took the pressure off the country’s road network and ensured the time they spent outside prison was limited, reducing the risk to public safety, he said.

“It also means that prisoners are not spending long periods in a cell inside a prisoner escort vehicle.”

Offenders were generally transferred by plane from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

Once they landed at their destination, they were transported by prison escort vehicle to their assigned prison.

Is it safe though?

Marsh said public safety was Corrections’ number one priority.

A “thorough risk assessment” and “rigorous planning” went into the transfer of any prisoner, he said.

“This includes specifying the number of escorting staff, the transport method, whether the prisoner will be GPS monitored while outside of prison and the restraint type used.”

Marsh said Corrections officers accompanied prisoners on all flights and additional airport security and prison staff were stationed at the receiving airport.

All prisoners on charter flights who were assessed as requiring a waist restraint or handcuffs remained in the restraint for the entire transfer, including on board the plane, if agreed with the charter company and pilot in command of the plane.

A seating arrangement diagram for the plane also had to be prepared.

Prisoners were not transferred on commercial flights without the airline’s prior agreement and Corrections staff were required to comply with any directions from the pilot.

The inmates could only be seated next to Corrections officers.

“Prisoners are always accompanied by and seated next to highly trained Corrections officers who monitor the prisoner throughout the flight. Prisoners are not seated next to a member of the public on any flight.”

Marsh said the specific number of staff who accompany prisoners on planes could not be divulged due to operational security reasons.

“However, Corrections always has the appropriate number of staff to ensure safety and security with prison transfers.”

Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 as a news director and Open Justice reporter. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff covering crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.