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New Zealand’s Aging RNZAF Jets Haunt Luxon’s First Trip Abroad
(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will visit Sydney on Wednesday to meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, his first official trip abroad - but he doesn’t yet know how he’ll get there.
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Plans to take a Royal New Zealand Air Force jet have been disrupted because the aircraft has “run into troubles in the last few weeks,” Luxon told reporters Monday in Wellington. He said final options for his entourage, which includes media, will be decided tomorrow.
In June, then prime minister Chris Hipkins took two RNZAF jets with him on a trip to China in case the one he was on broke down. The defense force has two Boeing 757 aircraft for these roles, but they are about 30 years old and nearing the end of their service, the government said at the time.
Hipkins Heads to China With Two RNZAF Jets, Fearing Breakdown
The second 757 is undergoing long-term maintenance and isn’t available, Luxon said. Travel options include using the 757 that has had recent issues, using an air force P-8 Poseidon, or flying commercially, he said.
“It’s incredibly frustrating for everybody,” Luxon said today. “It’s an issue that I think the military need to look at very, very closely.”
Following Hipkins’ trip to China, Luxon — a former Air New Zealand chief executive — said taking two planes was an environmental embarrassment.
He said his decision to use the 757 this week was based on the convenience and the size of the group traveling.
“But as you’ve seen even in recent weeks, the reliability of that fleet is challenged,” he said. “And again it raises into question, what is our long-term solution to all of that?”
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