Air New Zealand has reportedly temporarily halted operations to and from Samoa due to “poor GSE” that does not meet the airline’s standards.
According to Simple Flying, the carrier has cancelled two flights and is attempting to rebook passengers on narrowbody aircraft to their original destinations after its ground support equipment was deemed unfit.
The airline has apologised and is “working to increase safety standards with the ground handler services”.
On Friday, Air New Zealand was made aware that GSE was not up to its standards at Faleolo International Airport in Apia, Samoa. The equipment in question is used to load and unload passenger bags and cargo on Boeing widebody aircraft.
Air New Zealand said it has been working with its Samoan ground handler partner to increase the service’s safety standards.
Brent Roxburgh, the carrier’s head of the Pacific Islands, said: “As the safety of our people is our top priority, the airline made the call to pause widebody services until the equipment has been fixed.
“Our team has worked hard behind the scenes to re-accommodate impacted customers onto narrowbody services [Airbus 321neo aircraft] where possible.
“We have also added an Auckland – Apia – Auckland recovery flight to depart today, Monday 11 September, to get as many customers as possible to their final destination. At this stage, widebody flights will resume from Tuesday 12 September.”
Image credit: Umedha Hettigoda/Flickr
