Airport ordeal 'false imprisonment'

Passengers detained in Wellington Airport by Pacific Blue on one of the coldest nights of the year could seek false imprisonment damages from the airline in the district court, Wellington QC Hugh Rennie says.

In an email to The Dominion Post yesterday, Mr Rennie said the action of Pacific Blue in confining about 160 passengers to the terminal, and denying them access to customs and immigration, in law amounted to a false imprisonment.

It would be hard to put a dollar figure on the possible damages passengers could claim against the airline and the airport company because the conduct of both was "outrageous".

"It is certainly worth more than a free trip on an airline they may no longer wish to fly on," Mr Rennie said.

Exemplary damages typically awarded for false imprisonment ranged from $2500 to $5000.

Christchurch resident Joseph Laughlin was among the passengers diverted to Wellington about 12.30am on Monday, when their flight from Brisbane could not land in Christchurch because of snow.

The passengers spent one night in the airport's international terminal development, The Rock, and one night in a hotel before arriving in Christchurch on Tuesday morning.

Mr Laughlin and his partner contacted a lawyer yesterday afternoon.

"We've been advised all the passeners should get together and make a collective false imprisonment case against the airline. I was advised by my lawyer that Mr Rennie's false imprisonment response was spot on," Mr Laughlin said.

A spokeswoman for Wellington Airport Company, Kat Lintott, denied her company could be held responsible for any false imprisonment damages.

Airline and airport staff had been on hand to assist passengers during the period of disruption and provided free breakfast at 5am to make passengers as comfortable as possible, she said.

Airline spokesman Colin Lippiatt said passengers would be reimbursed the value of their flights to spend on Pacific Blue flights within the next year.

Passengers say they were dumped in a freezing cold holding-pen at the airport while the crew went off to sleep in a city hotel.

The passengers were not permitted to proceed through customs, after a decision made by the airline to keep them at the airport.

One passenger said a relative travelling with him could not obtain sanitary pads.

"They deprived people of the very basics of life."

Mr Lippiatt declined comment on the false imprisonment case suggestion. "I cannot speak on that issue ... in hindsight our services could have been better," he said.

Customs spokesman Rowan McArthur said Customs accepted it had a legal responsibility to be on hand to process passengers arriving in New Zealand on airliners.

"We assisted during the night by promptly clearing passengers who were ill [suffering from food poisoning] so they could be taken to hospital for treatment."

- © Fairfax NZ News