Cook Islands Tourism has echoed Air New Zealand’s message for travellers to ‘keep calm and carry on’ this coming holiday season.

Cook Islands Tourism Corporation chief executive Karla Eggelton reminded travellers to remember “Cook Islands Kia Orana Values” and respect each other “so we can all have a safe and peaceful holiday season”.

Eggelton’s words come off the back of a statement from Air New Zealand, asking customers to embrace the spirit of Christmas and show respect to fellow passengers and staff who will be working to help travellers reconnect with loved ones.  

Cook Islands Tourism Industry Council president Liana Scott also weighed in, reminding travellers to remember all those working in the industry, who don’t get time off, to ensure delivery of services and product, while others get to enjoy, “so giving thanks to them too”.

Air New Zealand chief operational integrity and safety officer, Captain David Morgan said the airline is seeing a concerning trend in unacceptable customer behaviour, with nearly 200 reports a month.

The severity and impact of these incidents have increased over time.  

“Air New Zealanders who work both on the ground and in the air, work extremely hard to ensure our customers have a safe journey with us, but over the past few years, we’ve seen an increase in some customers not showing them the respect they deserve.”  

Holiday travel can be stressful, however, Captain Morgan said there was no excuse for taking this out on fellow passengers, Air New Zealand ground staff, cabin crew, or pilots.

“The large majority of our customers are fantastic and treat people with courtesy and respect, but unfortunately, there are some people who fly with us who refuse to follow instructions, verbally abuse other people, or are disruptive. We’ve recently also seen instances of people being physically abusive.” 

 “We have zero tolerance for such behaviour and will take action to ensure that abusive customers are no longer able to travel with us if needed to ensure the safety of our team and customers.”

These incidents not only pose challenges for Air New Zealand but also impact the comfort and safety of fellow travellers. The airline encourages customers to remember to be courteous and think of others this Christmas, he said.

“We want to thank all of those customers who go the extra mile to say thank you to our frontline staff and are considerate of others – this makes such a difference to what are often long, busy days for our people at this time of year.” 

Earlier this year, the International Air Transport Association released analysis outlining the global increase in unruly passenger incidents.