Chathams flights cut

Press, 13 June 1979, Page 6

Chathams flights cut

Passenger flights to the; Chatham Islands will be cut as a fuel-conservation measure. The Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr Highet) said yesterday that this was -ecessary to help conserve New Zealand’s present stocks of aviation fuel. Mr Highet said that the Minister of Energy (Mr Birch) had earlier cut supplies of the fuel to all users)

by 30 per cent compared with | last year, but a special case] I w as made to Mr Birch about| | the Chatham Islands service, ■the only passenger transport i system between the islands and the New Zealand mainland. Consequently, the serivic would be cut only 14.3 | per cent. i Safe Air has had to re--arrange its present service, [and a new flight schedule i will apply from July 1. A new time-table has been drawn up in consultation i with the Chatham Islands County Council. The effect of the cuts will < not be dramatic. About 151 anuual flights will be reduced to slightly few’er than 140. The present time-tables provide for a Wellington-Chathams-Christchurch flight lon Monday’, and a reverse ‘flight on Friday. I

This schedule means that the aircraft must be repositioned between Christchurch and its Blenheim base when it is not on the Chathams run. To save fuel the aircraft will be repositioned from Wellington, but because of this the Chathams flights will have to be made on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is hoped that the balance of the mandatory 14.3 per cent saving can be achieved by cutting special unscheduled flights, which are made from Wellington to clear freight backlogs. The usual extra flights which cater for holiday flights to the Chathams by secondary school children attending mainland schools will i be continued.