Qantas prosecuted for breaching late-night flight curfew

Photo / Mark Mitchell

For the first time in 14 years an airline has been prosecuted for breaching Wellington Airport's late night curfew.

Qantas has admitted a flight from Sydney arrived at 1.47am on September 18 last year - international flights are not allowed to land after 1am but an extension of 30 minutes was available, The Dominion Post reported.

Wellington City Council took the airline to the Environment Court under the Resource Management Act and sentencing is scheduled for July.

Wellington Council development planning and compliance manager Warren Ulusele said he understood that airlines had to deal with issues like weather and emergencies.

"That is why the district plan has specific provisions that allow for such disruptions.

"The difficulty with this case is that the extension [of 30 minutes] was exceeded and there were options for [Qantas] to avoid the breach."

- NZPA