Maggie Barry claims 'misunderstanding' after police called on board flight

Saturday, 6 January 2024

Ex politician and broadcaster Maggie Barry has denied claims she abused Air NZ cabin crew, in an incident that saw police called aboard a flight to Auckland yesterday.

She also said she will fully cooperate with any investigation, following an incident that unfolded on the flight from Queenstown which the airline said delayed it 40 minutes.

Air NZ’s chief operational integrity and safety officer, Captain David Morgan, said police were called after “a passenger failed to comply with our crew member instructions and responded by being abusive towards our cabin crew and a fellow passenger.

“The incident resulted in a delay to the departure of the flight. Air New Zealand expects our crew to be treated with respect at all times, and we are providing support to the cabin crew member who experienced the abuse. For privacy reasons, we are unable to share any further information.”

Police confirmed an officer was sent from the airport to board the plane. A discussion was had between the officer, the pilot, and Barry. The flight took off without further incident with Barry on board.

Barry, in an email, characterised the incident as a “minor misunderstanding” between her and crew, and denied any abuse. She said she had “enormous respect” for the airline’s staff.

Barry said she was wearing a mobile phone on a long strap around her neck, which she said was “mistaken for a small bag that should be stored for the flight.

“As I’d often carried my phone that way on other flights, I wasn’t sure at first what they were asking me to do, so there was a misunderstanding initially. Once I understood the cause of the confusion, I took the phone off and showed them and they asked me to store it in the pocket in front of me for take off so I then switched it to flight mode and did as instructed.”

She said the flight was delayed only 20 minutes “regrettably” but said the biggest contributing factor to the delay was “strong headwinds and high altitude turbulence”.

“I had almost no interaction, a few words at most, with other passengers although I had a brief chat with a young musician who said how much he’d enjoyed Queenstown which I agreed with, and that he was worried about his flight connection. I commented to him that the cabin crew were doing an excellent job reassuring passengers and providing information about how to manage the additional weather related delays and he agreed. I saw no ‘abuse’ on the flight and certainly there was none from myself to any cabin crew or passengers.“

She confirmed she had been spoken to by the pilot and a policewoman.

“[They] were very calm and professional in our brief chat in the cockpit and asked me if I was prepared to obey crew instructions. I responded ‘absolutely’ and reassured them that I always have and always will follow crew instructions as I had already on that flight.

“The misunderstanding was quickly resolved in a professional and measured way by the pilot, crew members and policewoman and there were no further developments on the flight apart from those that were weather related.”

Barry had been touch with the airline and told it she “would support any further investigation and cooperate fully”.

“I understand this is the approach the airline always takes in relation to these sorts of issues and I commend them on taking any incidents in an aeroplane seriously and supporting their staff. I am happy to speak with them to resolve any issues.

“As a very frequent flyer over many years I have always had enormous respect for the important work our pilots and flight crews do and to follow the wise old safety message to, ‘Always follow the instructions of your crew - they know what to do’.”

A Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson said a formal incident report had not yet been received, but would be expected in the coming days. Incidents of that nature are required to be reported within 14 days.

“Once a report has been received the CAA will work with the airline to understand what happened and whether any follow up action needs to be taken from a safety perspective.”

The former TV show host of Maggie’s Garden Show entered Parliament as a National MP in 2011. She retired at the 2020 election.

Maggie Barry’s statement in full

I can confirm there was a minor misunderstanding that was quickly resolved between myself and cabin crew on a Friday flight from Queenstown.

The confusion was around my mobile phone which I was wearing on a long strap around my neck and which was mistaken for a small bag that should be stored for the flight. As I’d often carried my phone that way on other flights, I wasn’t sure at first what they were asking me to do, so there was a misunderstanding initially. Once I understood the cause of the confusion, I took the phone off and showed them and they asked me to store it in the pocket in front of me for takeoff so I then switched it to flight mode and did as instructed.

The flight had been delayed by about 20 mins leaving Queenstown regrettably, but a large contributing factor to the later landing in Auckland were the strong headwinds and high altitude turbulence and the pilot announced we should all stay in our seats with seatbelts on for most of the flight. Several airports around the North island had had flights cancelled or delayed because of the weather conditions which also contributed to our later than scheduled landing time in Auckland.

I had almost no interaction, a few words at most, with other passengers although I had a brief chat with a young musician who said how much he’d enjoyed Queenstown which I agreed with, and that he was worried about his flight connection. I commented to him that the cabin crew were doing an excellent job reassuring passengers and providing information about how to manage the additional weather related delays and he agreed. I saw no “abuse” on the flight and certainly there was none from myself to any cabin crew or passengers.

The pilot and Police woman were very calm and professional in our brief chat in the cockpit and asked me if I was prepared to obey crew instructions. I responded “absolutely” and reassured them that I always have and always will follow crew instructions as I had already on that flight.

The misunderstanding was quickly resolved in a professional and measured way by the pilot, crew members and policewoman and there were no further developments on the flight apart from those that were weather related.

I have subsequently been in contact with Air New Zealand and told them I would support any further investigation and cooperate fully. I understand this is the approach the airline always takes in relation to these sorts of issues and I commend them on taking any incidents in an aeroplane seriously and supporting their staff. I am happy to speak with them to resolve any issues.

As a very frequent flyer over many years I have always had enormous respect for the important work our pilots and flight crews do and to follow the wise old safety message to “Always follow the instructions of your crew - they know what to do”.