Air New Zealand transports essential expertise for critical Wellington Water project

Wellington Water approached Air New Zealand for its support in transporting essential personnel to the country for this critical repair. Flight NZ6011 is the return leg of one of a series of flights chartered by the German Government to repatriate German citizens from New Zealand. Today's service from Frankfurt is expected to touch down in Auckland this evening (NZT).

Air New Zealand Chief Operational Integrity & Standards Officer Captain David Morgan says the airline is pleased to be able to work with Wellington Water with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to transport essential expertise into the country under the extraordinary circumstances presented by the global pandemic.

"We are delighted to have been able to help solve a problem for the region by transporting this team of engineers. The timing has been managed to work in with our last repatriation flight to Germany, which meant we were able to collect the team in Frankfurt for the return flight to Auckland."

Stephen Wright, Manager, Major Projects at Wellington Water says they are happy to have the engineers and their expertise on their way to New Zealand.

"Repairing these pipelines is a complex engineering challenge, as the bursts occurred deep beneath Mt Albert. Wellington Water has worked with a specialist engineering firm in Germany to design and manufacture polyester pipeline sleeves specifically for the Mt Albert pipes. Given the importance of the installation, and the fact this will be the largest-scale implementation of this technology in Australasia to date, bringing in experienced international expertise for this operation was a key component of our arrangements with the manufacturer. Air New Zealand has been hugely helpful in enabling us to bring this team of specialists over from Germany.

"We have prepared travel logistics and a full isolation programme to ensure the technicians present a very low risk to New Zealanders, and themselves remain safe from the virus. This programme includes pre-flight screening, in-flight and transit physical distancing, self-contained transport and accommodation, and comprehensive site procedures. Upon arrival, the team will be quarantined in Auckland for 14 days and will then relocate to Wellington to begin work.

"We're grateful to Air New Zealand for their support, which will enable this critical wastewater network repair to take place."

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Issued by Air New Zealand Communications.

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