The report that men are not allowed to sit next to unaccompanied children on two airlines (Air New Zealand and Qantas) is so ridiculous (and infuriating) that I thought it was a joke when I first heard about it. Unfortunately, as reported by Stuff, it is not. In Human rights inquiry into airline policy, Stuff reports,
A ban by airlines on men sitting next to unaccompanied children will be the subject of a dispute resolution process by the Human Rights Commission, after it received four separate complaints in the past 24 hours.
The policy – common to both Qantas and Air New Zealand – came to national attention this week when Auckland father-of-two Mark Worsley complained that he was asked to move on a Qantas flight when an unaccompanied child was seated next to him.
It gets worse, though. Buried near the end of the article is this little quote:
However, Air New Zealand spokesman David Jamieson defended the airline’s stance today, saying the airline had no intention of reviewing its policy, which had been in place for many years and was in line with international best practice.
I’ll bet Jamieson has a sign on his desk which reads, "My mind is made up. Don’t confuse me with the facts."
