“Flying in Freedom NZ” has launched a public appeal for help to fund a legal challenge against vaccine mandates in the workplace. The funding page can be found here. The significance of this legal challenge is that any judgement will have implications for vaccine mandates in all private workplaces in NZ.

Pre-covid, Air NZ employed around 2,000 pilots, making it the largest single employer of pilots in NZ. The group of airline industry staff that comprise “Flying in Freedom NZ” include pilots, ground crew, engineers and flight attendants.

The Daily Examiner is aware of a number of Air NZ employees who have been injured by complying with the company’s vaccine mandate but have not made their experiences public as they are subject to an employee gag order. The “Flying in Freedom NZ” is only one of a growing number of airline employee groups worldwide that are now presenting legal challenges against their workplace mandates.

American Airlines pilot Bob Snow has not been so reticent. On 9th April this year, Captain Snow had a severe heart attack 6 minutes after landing an Airbus 321 at Dallas Airport. He had to be resuscitated. He has been very public with the adverse reaction he has experienced, together with US-based airline employee group “US Freedom Flyers”.