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Origin Pacific airline,
which flies in an out of Hawke's Bay, may consider banning men from sitting
next to unaccompanied children on its aircraft, in line with the policies of
Qantas and Air New Zealand. General manager Dallas
Hay said the company did not have a formal policy on the matter and would be
watching the public fallout over the issue before making a decision. Reports surfaced
yesterday that a passenger, Mark Worsley, on a Qantas flight from
Christchurch to Auckland a year ago, had been ordered by an air steward to
change seats because he was seated next to a young boy sitting alone. A Qantas spokesman
confirmed the airline did not allow unaccompanied children to sit next to
men. Air New Zealand later confirmed they had a similar policy. Mr Hay said Origin
Pacific had an informal policy in place regarding unaccompanied minors on
aircraft which visit Hawke's Bay Airport. "On the 29-seater
planes we get unaccompanied minors to sit beside flight attendants and on the
smaller 18 seater aircraft with two pilots we get unaccompanied children to
sit behind the pilots," Mr Hay said. "In light of the
issue we may be reviewing our policies." Coach operator Tranzit
CEO Malcolm Jons said that guardians are required to sign a form agreeing to
the protocols of carrying children who might be travelling alone. "In the event of
an unaccompanied minor, we try to get them seated in the first four rows so
the driver can see them and the passengers too," Mr Jons said. "Though if someone
does sit beside them, then that's life." Cinemas, likewise, had no such
policy. Manager of Reading
Cinema in Hastings and Napier, Nicole Speakman, said "it's never been
mentioned here". And Greg Rowe, manager
of Cinema Gold in Havelock North said he "wouldn't even consider
it". "How ridiculous.
I've never heard such tripe in my life," Mr Rowe said. "If it came to
that I would leave my job." Clinical psychologist
Nigel Latta, from Dunedin, described the policy as "insane". Mr Latta agreed studies
of sexual offenders showed somewhere between 70 and 90 percent were male but
the airlines' policy would not help protect children. "In 15 years of
working with thousands of sexual offenders I've never treated or heard of a
man who sexually offended against a child on a plane." New Zealand's Green
Party says the airlines policy banning men from sitting next to unaccompanied
children is discriminatory and will take the matter to the Human Rights
Commissioner. Green MP Keith Locke
said the policy was an example of moral panic about men posing as potential
threats to children.
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