In a heart-wrenching legal battle, Air New Zealand employees are courageously confronting their employer in court, fighting against the Covid-19 vaccination mandate that turned their lives upside down.

Yesterday, an Air New Zealand Captain and a seasoned engineer poured their hearts out to an employment court, sharing the devastating toll they endured after refusing the Covid-19 vaccine in 2021. They were forced to exhaust their annual leave and suffer the indignity of leave without pay.
These two individuals are among a group of 33 Air New Zealand employees who are fearlessly challenging the company’s draconian Covid-19 vaccination policy in the Employment Court, seeking justice and vindication.

Charlotte Parkhill, the lawyer representing the 33, opened her case with a powerful statement, emphasizing that the judge must grapple with two critical questions: whether any employer can lawfully impose a vaccination policy, and whether it was lawful and reasonable for the airline to have adopted such a policy under the distressing circumstances of the time. Parkhill stressed that these aren’t merely dry legal matters, but issues of profound, fundamental importance.

They involve the intersection between basic human rights, health and safety and employment law,”

she declared with conviction.

Parkhill revealed the agonizing ordeal the 33 had endured during the pandemic, marginalized and unfairly branded as “anti-vaxxers,” lumped together with those holding unconventional views. Yet, she passionately defended her clients, portraying them as intelligent, professional individuals who diligently researched the vaccine and made agonizing decisions based on the best information available to protect their health.

Ian Glenister, a dedicated licensed aircraft engineer with an impressive 36-year tenure at the airline, saw his world crumble in November 2021 when the vaccine policy barred him from working. He was forced to deplete all his annual leave and days in lieu to cling to his employment status, only returning to work in July 2022 when the rules finally relented.

Glenister shared his painstaking research into the vaccine and Covid-19, concluding that neither he nor his family faced significant risk of death or illness. “I had concerns about a vaccine that could be produced very quickly… and not adequately tested for long term safety,” he explained.

He found Air New Zealand’s September 2021 livestream presentation about the mandatory vaccination patronizing and insulting. “Despite Auckland being the most dangerous port to be working at… no one had caught Covid-19 and the protections in place were working well,” Glenister asserted, his frustration palpable. “Air New Zealand was holding a gun to its employees’ heads, but wouldn’t take responsibility if someone was injured with the vaccine.”

Even after returning to work in July 2022, armed with natural immunity from contracting Covid-19, Glenister faced a new sting of rejection as his manager revealed that several colleagues were nervous to work alongside him and other unvaccinated employees. “This was something Air New Zealand should have managed and not shifted on to us as a responsibility,” he lamented, feeling betrayed by his employer.

Captain Russell Tait, another casualty of the mandate, was forced onto annual leave and endured a staggering 197 days of leave without pay after refusing the vaccine. With 18 years of loyal service to the airline, he returned to work in August 2022, bolstered by natural immunity.

Tait spoke fondly of his once-positive relationship with the airline, shattered when the delta variant emerged in August 2021, bringing a flood of information about Covid-19 and vaccines. “At this stage I had not been vaccinated. I am not vaccine adverse having worked in Africa in the past… I have received more vaccines than most adults,” he clarified, dispelling any notion of blind opposition.

Yet, his extensive research into the Pfizer vaccine uncovered alarming tales of fellow pilots suffering heart attacks, Bell’s palsy, and pericarditis as side effects. “A week after his first jab back in July my father suffered an autoimmune response… he falls often and his balance has been affected to this day,” Tait revealed, his voice cracking with emotion. “I was very concerned about my ability to continue flying and earn a living if I suffered a side effect.”
With a heavy heart, Tait explained, “I could not ‘in good faith’ risk my career or my health by getting the vaccine.” Standing firm in his resolve, he affirmed,

While it has been a terrible time in my career I stand by my decision to refuse the vaccine.”

The hearing also bore witness to the anguished testimony of a pilot outside the group of 33, who reluctantly received the first vaccine to provide for his family and preserve his dream job. But his sacrifice came at a terrible cost: just two days later, he was wracked with “stabbing” chest pain and heart palpitations. Three days later, he found himself in a hospital bed, diagnosed with pericarditis.

“The personal impact from the vaccination policy especially on my family was intense, my body felt broken, chest pains for over two months, my wife was checking on me multiple times a night terrified I wasn’t going to wake up,” the pilot recounted, his voice breaking with raw emotion. He decried the taboo surrounding vaccine injuries, asserting, “Air New Zealand’s vaccination policy gave me no real choice…lose my job or risk another cardiac event hopefully not at the helm of an aircraft.”

With a resolute tone, he concluded,

It is my opinion, blanket rules over an employee’s health need to be reconsidered and medical treatment should never be mandated.”

As the hearing unfolds before Judge Kerry Smith over the coming days, these employees stand united, their voices rising in a powerful chorus against the airline’s unyielding policy, demanding justice and the restoration of their fundamental rights.