A senior pilot staged a surprise striptease during security at Queenstown International Airport. A pilot with a “character”, as his colleagues described him, stripped naked after a confrontation with airport security guards, shocking passengers. As a result, the troublemaker was removed from the flight.
According to local press reports, pilot Neil Abbott was scheduled to take a flight to Auckland. However, during the inspection, he got into an argument with the security service. According to preliminary data, the scandal was caused by the fact that the experienced pilot was asked to take off his boots during control.
As a result of the dispute, the pilot “freaked out,” throwing off all his clothes in full view of the public and “violating the airport’s standards of decency,” as reported by witnesses. The aviation security service, in turn, called the police, who arrived “to defuse the situation.”
Air New Zealand’s chief flight operations and safety officer, Captain David Morgan, is reported to have stated the situation. He reported a flight failure and a forced delay of almost one hour and forty minutes “due to the need to change the crew.” He did not mention the disgraced pilot but emphasized that airline pilots undergo thorough medical and psychological examinations to ensure their fitness for duty.