Air New Zealand Boeing 787 Diverts To Tonga To Drop Off An … – Simple Flying

NZ964 ended up in Tonga instead of Rarotonga after the airline required an engineer on the remote Pacific Island.
Travelers bound for the Cook Islands found themselves heading for Tonga on Wednesday 21st. Air New Zealand needed to transport an engineer to assist in a technical issue with another of the airline's aircraft.
Air New Zealand had two options when deciding on sending an engineer to assist in the stranded plane, operate a 'ghost flight' (an aircraft with no paying passengers onboard) or divert another flight heading in a similar direction. The airline decided to divert the Rarotonga-bound flight as it would cause the least disruption.
Tonga's Fuaʻamotu International Airport, located on its main island of Tongatapu, welcomed the second Boeing 787 Dreamliner to drop off essential supplies (including the engineer).
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With Air New Zealand making the adjustments for its aircraft to divert via Tonga, the airline operated the below schedule on Wednesday, taking note that the airline crosses the international date line when traveling to Rarotonga, arriving the day prior:
Compared with its usual schedule below:
New Zealand online newspaper Stuff questioned the airline if passengers would be reimbursed for the delay. However, the airline noted that the delay was only a few hours, and passengers didn't disembark the aircraft in Tonga. In addition, the airline did release this statement:
''Air New Zealand flight NZ946 from Auckland to Rarotonga was yesterday diverted to Tonga for a short stop in order to deliver an engineer and parts to repair another aircraft. Customers were communicated with, and we have since got them to where they needed to go for Christmas.”
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The Cook Islands' main airport, Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), is welcoming back several key connections:
Before the pandemic, Air New Zealand operated directly from Sydney to Rarotonga, but the airline is yet to reintroduce the service. Virgin Australia also connected Auckland to Rarotonga, and Air New Zealand operated the country's only long-haul flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Rarotonga. However, both airlines have signaled no immediate return to the services.
Source: Stuff.co.nz, Cook Islands News
Journalist – Aaron joins the Simple Flying team with 14 years of experience in the travel & tourism industry. He has a background in airports and travel consulting for global companies in New Zealand, Europe, and North America. An Avid traveler, Aaron has visited 52+ countries across 5 continents. Based in Christchurch, New Zealand

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