pengyou
3rd Sep 2004, 04:56
I am an avid 'barefooter', meaning that I just hate wearing footwear of any kind and I'm pretty much barefoot 24/7. As you can imagine, my feet are pretty tough, to the point where 'dangerous obstacles' like broken glass do not faze me at all.
I fly fairly frequently; usually barefoot. At the very least, this spares me the hassle of taking off shoes at the security gate, and I reckon that if I were unfortunate enough to ever have to be evacuated from an aircraft, I would have an edge, not having to worry about getting rid of shoes before hitting the slide.
However, today I saw the following disturbing article about an incident in New Zealand (as reported on tvnz.co.nz ):
Barefoot tots delay Air NZ flight
Sep 1, 2004
Air New Zealand has apologised to over 100 passengers whose flight was delayed when the captain refused to take off because two young children on the plane were not wearing shoes.
The flight from Christchurch to Wellington was delayed for 45 minutes. Eventually the captain said socks were sufficient.
Air New Zealand spokesman Glen Sowry said the captain is "ultimately responsible for the safety of the aircraft and its passengers."
"He [the captain] had concerns about the welfare of a couple of children on board in the event that they injure themselves," Sowry said.
Some passengers, however, were incensed by the captain's decision to sit on the tarmac while the parents' luggage was searched to find shoes for the youngsters, believed to be aged about two and four.
Passenger Terry Bach was angry the flight was delayed, not so much because he was late, but the reason why.
"When you have two children who are held to blame for the late departure of an aircraft when there are other people who are wearing jandals or light footwear, it's ludicrous - absolutely ludicrous," Bach said.
He said the parents looked "absolutely harassed because they felt the wrath of the aircraft passengers was falling on their shoulders."
Air New Zealand said there is no written rule against wearing footwear and it is up to the discretion of staff. The airline said it will now look at ways to communicate more fully with passengers over dress expectations.
A fellow barefooter from Australia relates this account of his encounter with the 'shoe police' down under:
A few years ago, I boarded a QANTAS flight, at Sydney, flying to Cairns. It was an international flight. The plan was going on to Osaka after Cairns.
I had no trouble at the check-in, in the Qantas Club and at the boarding gates. However, when boarding the plan, the staff at the door asked me if I had any shoes. I said 'no'. Nothing else was said and I went to my seat.
About 10 minutes later, the Captain announces that there's a slight delay due to a 'passenger problem'. I turned to my partner and said something like 'I wonder which passenger is the problem'. Immediately after saying this, I was surrounded by Qantas ground staff. I was advised that the Captain refuses to take-off until I put shoes on. My luggage had already been taken off the plan and was waiting for me on the tarmac. I was escorted to the tarmac so that I could retrieve footwear and then escorted back on the plane.
So, I was wondering: why would the captain of an aircraft consider a barefooted passenger to be enough of a threat to flight safety to significantly delay departure of the flight in order to get them to wear shoes?
Is this 'no bare feet' attitude limited to AU and NZ airlines, or could I expect to some day encounter the same problem flying with a North American or European airline?
I fly fairly frequently; usually barefoot. At the very least, this spares me the hassle of taking off shoes at the security gate, and I reckon that if I were unfortunate enough to ever have to be evacuated from an aircraft, I would have an edge, not having to worry about getting rid of shoes before hitting the slide.
However, today I saw the following disturbing article about an incident in New Zealand (as reported on tvnz.co.nz ):
Barefoot tots delay Air NZ flight
Sep 1, 2004
Air New Zealand has apologised to over 100 passengers whose flight was delayed when the captain refused to take off because two young children on the plane were not wearing shoes.
The flight from Christchurch to Wellington was delayed for 45 minutes. Eventually the captain said socks were sufficient.
Air New Zealand spokesman Glen Sowry said the captain is "ultimately responsible for the safety of the aircraft and its passengers."
"He [the captain] had concerns about the welfare of a couple of children on board in the event that they injure themselves," Sowry said.
Some passengers, however, were incensed by the captain's decision to sit on the tarmac while the parents' luggage was searched to find shoes for the youngsters, believed to be aged about two and four.
Passenger Terry Bach was angry the flight was delayed, not so much because he was late, but the reason why.
"When you have two children who are held to blame for the late departure of an aircraft when there are other people who are wearing jandals or light footwear, it's ludicrous - absolutely ludicrous," Bach said.
He said the parents looked "absolutely harassed because they felt the wrath of the aircraft passengers was falling on their shoulders."
Air New Zealand said there is no written rule against wearing footwear and it is up to the discretion of staff. The airline said it will now look at ways to communicate more fully with passengers over dress expectations.
A fellow barefooter from Australia relates this account of his encounter with the 'shoe police' down under:
A few years ago, I boarded a QANTAS flight, at Sydney, flying to Cairns. It was an international flight. The plan was going on to Osaka after Cairns.
I had no trouble at the check-in, in the Qantas Club and at the boarding gates. However, when boarding the plan, the staff at the door asked me if I had any shoes. I said 'no'. Nothing else was said and I went to my seat.
About 10 minutes later, the Captain announces that there's a slight delay due to a 'passenger problem'. I turned to my partner and said something like 'I wonder which passenger is the problem'. Immediately after saying this, I was surrounded by Qantas ground staff. I was advised that the Captain refuses to take-off until I put shoes on. My luggage had already been taken off the plan and was waiting for me on the tarmac. I was escorted to the tarmac so that I could retrieve footwear and then escorted back on the plane.
So, I was wondering: why would the captain of an aircraft consider a barefooted passenger to be enough of a threat to flight safety to significantly delay departure of the flight in order to get them to wear shoes?
Is this 'no bare feet' attitude limited to AU and NZ airlines, or could I expect to some day encounter the same problem flying with a North American or European airline?