A woman who had flown for 30 hours was then forced to board another plane to an MIQ facility despite telling staff she was feeling sick.
The passenger says airline staff told her she was lying, despite her fainting when she landed at Christchurch.
New Zealand resident Evgeniya Levkova was returning after visiting her mother in Moscow.
She was travelling for over 30 hours when she arrived in Auckland Airport at 11:45am on Tuesday.
Levkova and the other passengers were ushered into a waiting room for the next step of the quarantine process.
At around 1:30pm she started feeling unwell.
"I started to feel dizzy, fatigued, with numbness in my fingers, short breath and anxiety," Levkova says.
She and a few other passengers went to ask the desk how much longer the wait was and the man said they were waiting for a plane to Christchurch that will arrive at 3pm.
Levkoka told the Air New Zealand staff member she felt sick and wanted to speak to someone.
She claims he responded that she was lying about feeling sick, because she had passed all the health questions an hour ago.
The man said she could call the Ministry of Health, but he would complain she is lying.
The Ministry of Health line connected her to a health assistant who stayed on the phone until boarding started and told her not to board, but to pass the phone to the staff member.
Awaiting further instructions, Levkoka said she was approached by a police officer who took a copy of her passport and "frightened" her telling her she must go on the plane now.
"Nobody even takes care of you… nobody even helps you," Levkoka said.
She boarded the plane and when they landed in Christchurch she fainted.
"I started to stand up and lost consciousness, my leg was weak and soft, my vision was a blur and I fell," she said.
The airline staff brought her water and an oxygen mask, before helping her onto the bus to MIQ.
"We’re sorry to hear about this customer’s experience. It can be upsetting for people arriving from a long flight to find out they need to transfer to another location for their MIQ stay," an Air New Zealand spokesperson said.
"Air New Zealand operates MIQ charter services on behalf of Ministry of Health and passengers must adhere to Ministry of Health and other Government regulations upon their arrival.
"It is these agencies who determine where a person does their MIQ stay. Before boarding an MIQ flight, passengers are health screened by the Ministry of Health."
"These situations are handled with care and our teams refer to MOH for guidance on exemptions. Our team on the ground are well trained and equipped to deal with medical situations."
Levkoka then fainted again while waiting to check into MIQ.
Hotel staff helped her into a wheelchair where she finally got medical assistance.
Her blood pressure and sugar levels were assessed and she was put in the elevator to get to her room on the 12th floor.
She said it was a "messy process" because there were regulations that permitted staff from being in the elevator with visitors, despite them being within no physical distance when helping her onto the wheelchair.
Levkoka arrived in her hotel room just after 8:30pm.
With more than 220,000 returnees having been through MIQ, it’s not uncommon for there to be occasions where medical events occur inside managed isolation and quarantine facilities due to pre-existing medical conditions, accidents or illness – similar to what may happen at home, an MIQ spokesperson said.
They said MIQ is equipped with a team of healthcare professionals and nurses, including kaupapa Māori services and are able to handle most medical needs unless hospital admission is required.
Whenever there are incidents like a medical event where physical distancing may not be maintained, the risk is mitigated through use of PPE gear and other infection control measures, the spokesperson said.
Levkoka saw the nurse on Wednesday and said she was thankful that the people at MIQ helped her.
