Air New Zealand is reviewing health and safety procedures after an elderly Auckland woman suffered concussion and a broken nose on a domestic flight.
An internal investigation by the airline found that a steel trolley fell on top of Pat Sizemore, 81, when a passenger behind her opened an overhead locker on a flight from Auckland to Wellington.
A letter this week from Air New Zealand to Mrs Sizemore's daughter, Karen Brown, who had complained to the airline about aspects of its handling of the injuries, says it will look at putting ice packs into the first aid kits of its Boeing 737s and reinstating warnings after take-off about taking care with opening overhead lockers.
Also under review are the airline's procedures to take follow-up action on passenger injuries.
If it is found "serious harm" has occurred, the airline says it will send a report to the Civil Aviation Authority's Health and Safety in Employment unit.
Mrs Brown, who met her mother at Wellington Airport on Boxing Day after the flight, took her straight to Wellington Hospital's accident and emergency department, where she was diagnosed with the broken nose and concussion.
Airline staff had called Mrs Brown on to the aircraft where paramedics were attending to her mother. One of them said an ice pack should have been applied straight away to her head injuries, but the purser said ice packs were not carried on board.
"The paramedic suggested I take my mother to A & E to be checked out and she was put in a wheelchair which an airline ground staff member pushed out to our car," Mrs Brown told NZPA.
"No one from Air New Zealand called after that to see how my mother was, even though she had been injured while in their care, through no fault of her own.
"She had a broken nose and suffered dizzy spells and bruising for days afterwards. It ruined her holiday in Wellington and knocked her confidence for weeks afterwards."
But Mrs Brown said she and her mother were pleased Air New Zealand was now reviewing its procedures to check up on passengers injured on flights, as well as the other safety measures.
A flight attendant had fashioned a "cold compress" out of bottled water and serviettes because there was no ice pack on board the airline's B737 fleet.
The airline's letter says an announcement warning passengers to take care when opening overhead lockers was only made after landing on B737s.
"The after take-off warning was stopped recently to increase effectiveness of public announcements by ensuring only essential information is broadcast," Air NZ wrote.
"The decision to stop this warning was based on the mitigating factor that B737 overhead lockers are placarded with a decal, warning passengers of the potential hazard and to take care when opening."
Air New Zealand says it will be providing Mrs Sizemore an open ticket from Auckland to Wellington, which her daughter said would be gladly accepted as long as she was booked on a window seat - safe from falling objects.
