Several flights to and from Christchurch have been affected by problems with Air New Zealand’s ATR aircraft. Flight schedules showed select flights between Christchurch and Wellington and Christchurch and Invercargill were cancelled this week. Dunedin Airport also reported six flights between Dunedin and Christchurch had been cancelled on Tuesday, following cancellations on Sunday and Monday. Air New Zealand declined to say exactly how many planes and routes were affected, but confirmed in a statement some of its ATR aircraft were out of action due to de-icing system issues. “This coupled with constrained supply chain options from our overseas suppliers has meant there is a delay in the equipment needed to repair those aircraft,” Air New Zealand group general manager engineering and Maintenance Brett Daley said. The airline had changed a number of its ATR services to jets to limit the disruption for customers, and apologised for the inconvenience caused, Daley added. Air New Zealand has previously defended its use of turboprop aircraft on the Christchurch to Wellington route, following customer complaints that the planes were slower and less comfortable than the jets reserved for peak-hour flights. The airline currently has 28 ATR aircraft in its fleet.
From what I've been told it's not just the ATRs. I'm told the Thursday evening, Sunday evening and Monday morning flights to Hokitika were cancelled due to engineering. The Sunday and Monday cancellations were at a time when when the mountain passes were closed due to snow. One wonders whether the inability to transfer to another flight or even the availability of road conditions are ever considered by those cancelling flights?
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