Air N.Z. flights delayed today through dispute

Press, 31 May 1982, Page 1

Air N.Z. flights delayed today through dispute

By

LES BLOXHAM,

travel editor

Air New Zealand executives hope that cabin attendants will not vote to take further disruptive action at their stop-work meetings this morning. . The attendants’ 12-hour strike from midnight has grounded all of the airline’s domestic services and many of its international flights until this afternoon. The attendants are protesting about delays in reaching a settlement over the hours they are required to work on some international routes. •

Their action has forced the airline to cancel 10 flights out of Christchurch, involving 230 passengers. Two international departures will also be delayed. Twelve inbound domestic flights have been cancelled. Passengers booked on flights this afternoon should be prepared for delays. The unavailability of aircraft has also forced the cancellation of the 2.15 p.m. flight to Nelson and the flight from Invercargill which normally lands at Christchurch at 1.30 p.m. The DCIO domestic service to Auckland, scheduled for

5.40 p.m., is now not expected to depart until after midnight. All passengers have been rebooked on earlier flights. TE4I which usually leaves for Sydney at 8.20 a.m. is now expected to depart at 4.20 p.m. TE63 to Brisbane will be delayed for two hours and 20 minutes and will leave at 1.20 p.m. This evening, TE42 from Sydney is expected to arrive at 11.50 p.m. instead of its normal time, 3.50 p.m. • A DCIO will be used on a domestic flight from Auckland to help clear the backlog of passengers. It is ex-

pected to arrive at 1.20 p.m. All Mount Cook Line flights will depart and arrive on schedule. The airline is not affected by the stop-work action. Air New Zealand’s flight attendants gave notice two weeks ago of their intention to stop work this morning. They have been unhappy for some time over the hours they are required to work on some of the Pacific international routes. Informed sources believe it is possible that they may vote to extend their strike action if the matter is not settled within a week.