AIrNZ 787
© stuff.co.nzAn Air New Zealand Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will fly over Invercargill on Saturday afternoon.
An Air New Zealand Captain and engineer have told an employment court about the impact they felt after refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in 2021, and being forced to take annual leave and leave without pay.

The duo are part of 33 Air New Zealand employees who are challenging the company's Covid-19 vaccination policy in the Employment Court.

Charlotte Parkhill, who is the lawyer representing the 33, said in opening her case that there are two questions the judge needs to determine - whether any employer can lawfully adopt a vaccination policy, and was it lawful and reasonable for the airline to have adopted the policy in the circumstances that existed at the time.

Parkhill said these questions weren't just important questions of law, but of fundamental importance.

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

Parkhill said the 33 had a "torrid time" during the pandemic and had been marginalised.

"They have been labelled 'anti-vaxxers' and lumped in with people who have other views which may not align with the mainstream. However, all of our clients are intelligent, professional individuals who researched the vaccine and made a decision based on the best information that they had before them at the time regarding their own health."

Air NZ Plane
© AIMAN AMERUL MUNER / STUFFAn Air New Zealand plane at Timaru airport (file photo)
Licensed aircraft engineer Ian Glenister has been employed by the airline since 1985.

In November 2021 due to the implementation of the vaccine policy he was no longer permitted to work.

He returned to work in July 2022 due to the relaxation of the rules, but had to take all his annual leave and days in lieu to maintain his employment status.

Glenister said before the mandate came into effect he did a lot of research regarding the vaccine and Covid-19.

Neither his family nor Glenister were considered at significant risk of death or illness, he said.

"I had concerns about a vaccine that could be produced very quickly... and not adequately tested for long term safety."

Glenister said in September 2021 when Air NZ gave a livestream presentation about the mandatory vaccination, he said he found it patronising.

"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 said.

"Air New Zealand was holding a gun to its employees' heads, but wouldn't take responsibility if someone was injured with the vaccine," he went on to say.

After he returned to work in July 2022 due to natural immunity after contracting Covid-19, he was told by his manager several colleagues were nervous to work with him, and others who were unvaccinated.

"This was something Air New Zealand should have managed and not shifted on to us as a responsibility."

Under cross examination by Air New Zealand's lawyer, Paul Andrew Caisley, he accepted he was not an expert in infectious diseases or a medical doctor.

Caisley questioned him on how he knew no one at the airport had caught Covid-19 when he didn't have access to sick leave records.

"I'm pretty damn sure if someone had caught it... everyone was so hypersensitive to the matter it would have been headline news," Glenister said.

Captain Russell Tait was another employee who was put on annual leave due to refusing to get the mandatory vaccine. He subsequently took 197 days of leave without pay.

Tait has worked for the airline for 18 years. He returned to work in August 2022 also due natural immunity.

Prior to the mandate, he had a very positive relationship with the airline.

In August 2021 when the delta variant changed things, there was increasing information about the effects of 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."

Tait said he researched the Pfizer vaccine extensively and knew of fellow pilots who had had heart attacks, bell palsy and pericarditis as a side effect of the first vaccine.

"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."

"I was very concerned about my ability to continue flying and earn a living if I suffered a side effect."

Tait said he could not "in good faith" risk his career or his health by getting the vaccine.

"While it has been a terrible time in my career I stand by my decision to refuse the vaccine," Tait said.

Under cross-examination by Caisley, he accepted there had been livestreams with experts and FAQs regarding the vaccine.

The last witness to give evidence on Tuesday was a pilot who is not part of the 33 plaintiffs.

He got the first vaccine to continue to provide for his family and keep his dream job. But two days later he was having "stabbing" pain in his chest and heart palpitations, he said.

Three days later he ended up in hospital and was diagnosed with pericarditis. When he spoke with his GP it was decided he best not get the second dose with his doctor applying for a temporary vaccine exemption.

This was declined.

"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 said becoming emotional at times.

He said speaking about vaccine injuries is still a taboo subject.

"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

"It is my opinion, blanket rules over an employee's health need to be reconsidered and medical treatment should never be mandated," the pilot said.

The hearing is set down for a number of days in front of Judge Kerry Smith.