Mum and her two young children are booted off a Jetstar flight because her toddler-aged son wasn’t wearing shoes
- Woman and her two children were removed from a flight from New Zealand
- Another passenger initially offered to give a pair of shoes to the boy
- Jetstar said boy couldn’t board because shoes had to be worn the entire flight
A mother and her two young children have been booted off a Jetstar flight because one of the toddlers wasn’t wearing shoes.
The passengers were trying to board a flight from Queenstown in New Zealand to Wellington when they were stopped by airport staff.
One customer offered to give the boy a pair of shoes but the airline said the child would need to wear the footwear for the duration of the flight and stopped the family from boarding.
A mother and two children have been booted off a Jetstar flight in New Zealand because her son wasn’t wearing shoes (stock images)
Witness Isobel Mebus, of Wairarapa, north of Wellington, saw the drama unfold.
In a post on Facebook she wrote: ‘I just saw a Samoan mum with two small children refused entry on to a plane at Queenstown Airport because her son had no shoes.
‘Other passengers offered her son shoes to put on but still she was not allowed to board.
‘Shame on you Jetstar, really really disgusted.’
Jetstar’s terms and conditions state they have the right to refuse a passenger if they are not wearing footwear.
A Jetstar spokesman told Daily Mail Australia that the family of three were unable to board Wednesday’s flight due to the son not having any shoes.
He said ground staff held up the flight for 21 minutes as they tried to get it sorted but were unable to.
While the boy was initially offered a pair of shoes by another passenger, it was retracted when it was understood the child would have to wear them for the entire trip.
Ms Mebus expressed disbelief that the family was turned away despite the offer.
‘She was really beside herself and crying and it was really awful,’ she told the NZ Herald.
The passengers were trying to board a flight from Queenstown (pictured) in New Zealand to Wellington when they were stopped by airport staff
‘The thing is, they did resolve the issue because the child did have shoes on but were still turned away.’
The spokesman said the family stayed another night in Queenstown with relatives before being put on another flight to Auckland this morning, at the airline’s expense.
‘We apologise to customers for the disruption this caused, however for safety we require all passengers to wear footwear when boarding, while in flight and when disembarking our aircraft.’