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Airline apologises for passenger pregnancy mistake

Australian carrier Jetstar Airways has apologised to a passenger who was offended by being asked if she was pregnant.

A flight attendant asked the question as Grethe Andersen, who was not pregnant, was boarding the flight on Sunday from Wellington to Auckland in New Zealand.

She complained to the airline that the attendant showed “no remorse” in asking her the “rude question”.

Qantas-owned Jetstar told local media it contacted her on Tuesday to apologise and offered her a NZ$100 (£44) flight voucher, the BBC reported.

Jetstar, like many airlines, has a policy of requiring women who are more than 28 weeks pregnant to produce a doctor’s note certifying they are fit to travel, for safety and liability reasons.

Andersen, 24, alleged the male attendant had gestured at his stomach and asked her: “How many weeks are you?”

She said she did not get an apology at the time.

She told New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME): “I used to be quite heavily overweight and even then was never met by such a rude question and especially no remorse from the flight attendant.”

A Jetstar spokesman told news service NZME that it “sincerely apologises for the distress the passenger experienced”.

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