AB’s son injured at airport check-in
The toddler hurt on a baggage conveyor at Auckland Airport on Thursday is the son of All Black Vaea Fifita.
The 1-year-old boy, Paula, was carried by a conveyor belt at checkin into Auckland Airport’s luggage handling system on Thursday at 3pm before security discovered him.
Yesterday, Fifita thanked airport staff and emergency services for their support.
‘‘He had an operation on his arm and is doing OK.’’
Paula was earlier said to be 2 years old, but will turn 2 this month, according to a tweet from the All Blacks.
The incident left him injured and he was in a stable condition in hospital early yesterday morning, according to a spokeswoman for Auckland Airport.
Last weekend, Fifita posted on Facebook that he was enjoying time with his two boys before they left New Zealand for Tonga this week.
Fifita was named as a reserve for the All Blacks match against France tonight at Eden Park and a spokesperson for the All Blacks confirmed yesterday that he would take his place in the team today.
Two investigations have been launched into the incident, one on behalf of Aviation Security (Avsec) and another by Auckland Airport, a spokeswoman for Auckland Airport said.
The incident was at a normal check-in counter and did not involve an automated bag drop, the spokeswoman said.
Qantas and Air New Zealand said their airlines were not involved in the incident according to both airlines.
Fifita, 25, was born in Tonga and moved to New Zealand to take up a rugby scholarship at Tamaki College.
He was named as an All Black in 2017 for the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand and played his first test in September against Argentina.