Air NZ rejects a young woman with Tourette syndrome

A Dunedin woman with Tourette syndrome was humiliated after she was told she was not allowed to board an Air New Zealand flight.

Jade O’Connell, 19, was due to fly from Dunedin to Wellington on Monday to attend Camp Twitch, a camp for people with Tourette syndrome.

After she arrived at Dunedin airport on Monday morning with her mother, the couple were told that Jade would not be able to fly due to problems with her on an earlier flight.

He missed the first day of camp.

Jade’s family and friends have expressed their anger, saying that the incident was humiliating and disappointing.

“It’s ridiculous. We’ve never had to do any of that before,” said Mother Teresa O’Connell.

“It felt like it was his Tourette and this team didn’t want to deal with it.”

But Air New Zealand says the problem was medical and made the decision with your safety in mind.

Jade had been in Auckland on Sunday and came back on a flight that night.

Her mother said Jade had a minor panic attack at Auckland airport and lost feeling in her legs.

“She alerted the staff at the airport and they were brilliant. They put her in a wheelchair and put her on the plane.

“I met her in Dunedin, put her in the car, took her home and she came right away.”

The couple went to the airport the next morning and approached the Air New Zealand help desk.

“We did what we always do and went to the desk.

“We do it so that you are aware of Jade and her Tourette.

“The man at the desk told Jade to go to the door, so we went through security, and then … he told me there was a problem.”

They told him that the crew on the flight to Wellington were the same as the night before, that he had remembered Jade and said she was troublesome and demanding.

“He said [Jade] she had demanded to go to the bathroom on the plane because she couldn’t walk alone and because not being able to use her legs was a problem.

“I asked him if he had asked to go to the bathroom and he said no, but that a woman next to him on crutches had asked to go to the bathroom on the flight.”

Teresa O’Connell told staff that her daughter was now able to walk normally, but was told she needed to obtain a medical certificate.

Jade was cleared to fly.

“It really bothers me because there are so many people with Tourette syndrome and they shouldn’t be discriminated against.

“Some of the things he says may be offensive, but we always tell people that he has Tourette … we don’t take anyone by surprise.”

Jade was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome in January this year after four years of dealing with it, her mother said.

“For so long he wondered why he was different from the others.”

Since then, she had created a TikTok account to address stigma by sharing snippets from her daily life and had earned more than 975,000 followers on the social media platform.

“It has helped a lot of people around the world, but it has actually helped her and her confidence tremendously as well.

“Moments like this are a real setback.”

Teresa O’Connell was disappointed that the staff didn’t take the time to find out what was going on.

“It was so practical. If one of the staff had come to talk to her, she might have understood, but they didn’t bother.”

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said Jade was unable to travel due to medical reasons.

“You have now been provided with documents to complete in order to obtain a medical clearance to fly. We require this to establish that passengers can exit the aircraft unaided in an emergency.

“As each person with Tourette syndrome can present different characteristics, it is important that our team is informed.

“We are sorry to hear that you missed the first day of camp. However, your safety is our first priority and our staff make decisions with this in mind.”

Jade was allowed to board a new flight yesterday morning, but Air New Zealand said she had to have a companion with her in an emergency.

The family paid $ 340 for her grandmother to accompany her and the couple planned to return to Dunedin on Friday.