An Air New Zealand charter flight returning from Frankfurt to Auckland via Vancouver is currently en route to New
Zealand carrying five specialist engineers who will assist Wellington Water with urgent repair work on two of
Wellington’s wastewater pipelines.
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.