Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says Labor's deception over Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's mid-air meltdown is worse than the actual incident itself.

Mr Rudd has publicly apologised for verbally abusing a flight attendant and reducing her to tears on a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flight in a row over food earlier this year.

However News Limited has reported that Mr Rudd's media adviser, Lachlan Harris, initially denied the incident happened when first asked about it.