After grounding some of its fleet due to Covid disruption, Air New Zealand is dusting off the first of its Boeing 777-300s after two years in storage.
On Tuesday, the company conducted an operational flight check at Auckland Airport of one of its 777s that had been grounded for just under 600 days.
Captain Dave Morgan told 1News the flight took about two hours and travelled along the Coromandel coastline, while a team did systems checks before returning back to Auckland to land.
The planes have been in storage for two years. (Source: 1News)
Morgan said Tuesday marked “light at the end of the tunnel” and an “exciting moment” for the Air NZ team.
He says the timing is consistent with the border reopening.
“Progressive reanimation of the fleet as the borders do open and we start seeing people travelling, initially people coming across the Tasman of course, New Zealanders later in the month and then two weeks later and then after that from the rest of the world.
“Then we will see eventually, more and more people coming back to this country and Air NZ needs to be prepared to carry those people to New Zealand,” Morgan says.
He says international air connectivity has been maintained amid the pandemic, by carrying cargo, such as meat, seafood and other products to the world.
“With the introduction of the 777, we’ve got extra freight carrying capacity,” he says.
“The aeroplane has been tasked to do freight over the next year or so,” Morgan says, “then eventually we will start seeing passengers start coming on board the aircraft.”
Morgan says while it’s been “sad” to see aircraft grounded adding "it’s great to see them coming back to life again".
“I’m just so delighted the team are taking it out today.”
New border reopening dates were released by the Government last Thursday after the last dates were scrapped as Omicron began spreading across the world.
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