At the airport lobby at midday today, people sat with their luggage waiting in hope their flights would stay on schedule and they would arrive at their destinations.
Speaking with Local Democracy Reporting on Thursday morning, Mayor Rehette Stoltz described Air New Zealand’s service as “a lifeline” and said that when it contacted her on Wednesday, she had urged the airline to have clear communications with passengers.
“Don’t let people sit there from 5.30 this morning who missed their flights and think it might go at 9 or 10.”
According to one passenger who was supposed to fly at 6am, the airline contacted him at 3pm on Wednesday, cancelling the flight.
However, he was not impressed with the airline’s communications.
He said they then put him on a flight to Auckland two days later at 5pm; however, his return flight from Auckland to Gisborne was at 3pm that same day.
“So I [would have] arrived after I was already supposed to have left.”
He managed to get a ticket for a flight scheduled at 5pm today but was waiting on standby in case any planes left earlier.
He had missed one full day of meetings and would have to fly back to Auckland next week.
“I fly often, and every time in the last six months, it has either been delayed or moved,” he said.
In another instance, two women were supposed to fly to Auckland at 1.55pm to travel to Singapore tomorrow.
However, they did not find out about the flight delays until they arrived at the airport.
They wished the airline had let them know so they could have spent more time with family before their travels.
Air New Zealand chief operating officer Alex Marren said they pre-emptively cancelled flights today to allow time for engineers to work on the planes.
Both aircraft were de Havilland Q300s. One had sustained propeller blade damage while in flight, the cause of which is unknown.
The other aircraft issue involved a cockpit control check.
“Parts have been transported overnight to Gisborne, and our team are working as quickly as possible to get these aircraft back in the air.”
Marren said the airline was accommodating customers whose flights had been impacted on the next available service.
As there is limited availability over the next couple of days, Air New Zealand has also offered road transportation to Napier, she said.
The airline was also looking at “alternate parking options to accommodate flights”.
“We are very grateful to all affected customers for their patience and understanding while we work to get them to their destinations.”
Stoltz said she had met with the airline on Monday and Tuesday to meet the new chief executive, Nikhil Ravishankar, who will start his position on October 20.
They talked about how the airline service was a lifeline to the region.
“There might be people now missing their international flight, and there is no option for them just to drive because it is seven hours, it’s not like Rotorua or Tauranga.”
She said they were sympathetic and wanted to work closely.
“It is a lifeline to us, but they also need to take into account that it is a service to a very isolated region, which is 51% Government-owned.”
She said Air New Zealand does try to support the region, noting the flights put on from Gisborne to Napier during Cyclone Gabrielle.
“Fingers crossed that’s a great sign of what’s to come, that there would be very clear comms of what our community can expect, so that they can change their flights and accommodation and be ready, because it costs a lot of money.”
