The Australian budget airline Jetstar demanded photographic proof verified by police that a Christchurch family's house was damaged in last week's earthquake before refunding fares for abandoned flights, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
Gillian Smith, of suburban Avonside, postponed a scheduled flight to Melbourne Friday to visit her daughter, Sarah, after her home was damaged and left without power and other utilities by the February 22 quake which devastated the South Island city, dpa reported.
But when Sarah asked Jetstar for a refund on her mother's behalf, she was told to get photographic proof of the damage and a letter from the police or Christchurch City Council confirming the situation, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Jetstar, which is owned by Australia's national carrier, Qantas Airways, apologized and agreed to the refund after the Herald approached it for comment.
As searchers continued to comb the wrecked central business district for bodies on Thursday, police increased the official death toll to 161, although they say the final figure is likely to be about 240.
They released the names of two Israeli citizens who lost their lives, Gabi Moshe Ingel, 22, and Ofer Levy, 22. News reports said another Israeli, Ofer Mizrahi, also died when debris fell on the car he was driving.
Christchurch mayor Bob Parker said that people would start to be allowed back into the cordoned city centre, where more than 50,000 people usually worked every day, for the first time on Friday to collect belongings and abandoned vehicles.
Buses resumed services around the city on Thursday, offering free travel for the next two weeks.
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