Fri 8 Apr 2016 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Jetstar has apologised to a Christchurch transgender woman who says check-in staff refused to let her board a plane yesterday because she didn’t have ID. Darci-Lee Hume says when she was checking in for her flight to Wellington, Jetstar staff told her that her details didn’t match up and that she needed to prove who she was before being allowed to board. Hume was not carrying any ID on her. “I talked to one of the managers who said, `your details don't match up, it says Miss Darci, you are clearly not a Miss, Sir’.” Hume told stuff.co.nz, saying she felt “humiliated”. "I have nothing else to believe but that it was just purely because I didn't present as their idea of what a female is,” she said. Jetstar say all passengers must carry proof of identity that matches the information given in their booking and on their boarding pass. This is a procedure for domestic travel that is in line with other airlines in New Zealand and Australia. They say gender was never part of the equation in this instance and apologised for any distress Hume experienced. As a gesture of goodwill, Jetstar refunded Hume’s airfare.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 8th April 2016 - 11:33am