A 19-year-old woman was shocked by what she describes as the lack of service from Jetstar, after she missed the check-in time for her Queenstown to Christchurch flight by less than 2 minutes on Monday afternoon.
Jetstar said it had clear policies about check-in, which also applied to a small, provincial airport such as Queenstown.
The airline maintains it takes customer services very seriously.
Jennifer Heath, of Christchurch, found herself stranded in Queenstown when she missed her Jetstar flight.
She had been driving a company van from her mother's business back to Queenstown.
Having done the trip many times before, she had left Christchurch at 6.15am, seven hours before her 1.35pm flight back from Queenstown.
Check-in closed at 1.05pm, but after dropping the van off at an address near Lake Hayes, she was delayed on the final part of her journey to the airport.
She rushed to the counter just before 1.07pm, only to be told the check-in was closed.
"The woman at the Jetstar counter did not even look up when I approached.
When I got her attention, she dismissed me completely, and said there was nothing she could do for me as the check-in was closed.
She did not listen to my explanation, and did not say anything about possibilities to get on a later flight," Miss Heath said.
As a seasoned traveller on domestic flights, she said she was well aware of airport procedures.
"I know the airlines have their policies for check-in, and I accept it is my responsibility to be there in time.
"Yet, it was a quiet day at the airport, the plane did not appear to be full, and it took another 10 minutes before they announced boarding.
I did not have any luggage to check in, and it would only take a maximum of two minutes for me to get to the gate."
Simon Westaway, head of corporate relations at Jetstar's Australian headquarters, said the airline's policy was clear and simple.
"The check-in time of 30 minutes prior to departures is the same for all domestic flights in Australia and New Zealand.
Sticking to our timetable is important for our customers, and to live up to that, we have to stick to our check-in times.
Queenstown Airport is no exception to this policy," Mr Westaway said.
Miss Heath was more concerned about the lack of customer service she received.
"There was no customer service at all. I panicked and got all flustered by the situation. They might not have been able to help me on to the plane, or able to sell me a ticket to a later flight, but a friendly word or a little bit of empathy would have made the situation a lot better."
Mr Westaway would not comment on the specific case, but said it was Jetstar's standard procedure always to tell customers who miss their flight about the opportunity to change to an alternative flight for a fee.
"We will look into whether our policies for customer relations are being followed," he said.
Miss Heath got a ticket for an Air New Zealand flight back to Christchurch later on Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, her mother called Jetstar's customer services, and was told the check-in times were the client's responsibility, and no compensation could be discussed.
Mr Westaway encouraged customers in a similar situation to approach the airline with their concerns.
