Air Chathams back on track after Auckland flooding; bringing DC-3 to Whanganui

Air Chathams' Douglas DC-3 will be back in Whanganui in mid-February. Photo / Stuart Munro

Air Chathams’ Whanganui-to-Auckland service is back to normal after the airline brought in its 68-seat ATR 72 to clear the backlog caused by flooding in Auckland over the weekend.

Air Chathams chief operating officer Duane Emeny said the closure of Auckland Airport on January 27 caused a bit of stress, but the incident that had the biggest impact was an Air New Zealand plane taking out a number of runway lights.

“We had to divert some of our aircraft to Hamilton, and they were about to start engines there when the decision was made to shut the airport for passengers,” Emeny said,

“That put the brakes on.”

Domestic flights in and out of Auckland resumed at midday on January 28.

Around 2000 people spent the previous night at the airport due to the closure.

Disruptions were ameliorated using the 68-seat ATR 72 aircraft, Emeny said.

“It came to Whanganui on a return flight and that managed to clear out the backlog, which was great.

“Everything has been back on track since then.

“Obviously, there are a few minor delays here and there with the weather causing some operational issues, but for the most part, things are where we need them to be.”

Emeny said the international terminal was closed for almost 48 hours, but considering how badly it was flooded, getting it reopened in such a short space of time was “quite an incredible effort”.

“We had an international flight to Norfolk Island on Monday, and that went ahead. Considering what they had on Friday, that was really impressive.

“When I look at how the other airlines around us have been faring, especially those with international flights, I think we’re in a reasonably good place.

“Things are building back really well. We’re looking forward to an undisrupted year. Whanganui has come along great, and we’re stoked to have the airport café up and running again.”

Air Chathams’ Douglas DC-3 would be seen in the skies above Whanganui on February 18 and 19 as it undertook scenic tours, Emeny said.

The public can book a seat via the Air Chathams website.

“It’s doing a couple of flights around Whakatāne this weekend, then it pops down to the Kāpiti Coast.

“The DC-3 hasn’t been in the River City for a number of years, so we’re looking forward to bringing it down there.”

Emeny said it had spent quite a bit of its life in Whanganui as a top-dressing aircraft, spraying fertiliser on paddocks.

The 28-seater aircraft rolled off the production line at the very end of World War II in 1945 and flew under the command of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

It then became a passenger commuter for the National Airways Corporation from 1953 until the late 1960s.

Air Chathams founder Craig Emeny purchased the DC-3 in 2009, after it had been sitting in a hangar at Tonga’s Fua’amotu International Airport for three years.