Check your tickets! Air New Zealand suddenly cancels hundreds of flights to Australia – leaving 14,000 people in the lurch over the holiday season
- The airline has cancelled 82 flights between 10 December and 5 January
- This is because of required maintenance to the planes’ Rolls-Royce engines
- Customers who are disrupted will be contacted by company they booked with
- A full list of cancellations is here
Thousands of holidaymakers have had their flights cancelled due to engine problems with Air New New Zealand planes.
The airline has cancelled 82 flights between 10 December and 5 January, affecting 14,000 customers.
Flights from Christchurch to Perth have been scrapped as well some from Auckland to Sydney and Tonga.
Thousands of holidaymakers have had their flights cancelled due to engine problems with Air New New Zealand planes (stock image)
This is because of required maintenance to the Rolls-Royce engines on Boeing 787-9 aircraft which are used by several airlines around the world.
In April Rolls-Royce revealed that the turbine blades of the Trent 1000 TEN engine which has been used since November 2017 deteriorate faster than expected.
The engineering firm said that engines would need to be inspected more frequently and several require maintenance over the holiday period.
Customers who are disrupted will be contacted by either Air New Zealand or their travel agent, depending on who they booked with.
An Air New Zealand spokesman said: ‘Rolls-Royce requires operators of its Trent 1000 TEN model engines to carry out more frequent maintenance due to an issue with the engine’s high-pressure turbine blades.
‘Rolls-Royce does not have any replacement engines available while maintenance work is undertaken and has advised Air New Zealand there’s significant wait for repair services.
‘Air New Zealand has 10 Trent 1000 TEN engines fitted to its 787-9 fleet and has been working to minimise disruption but schedule changes are now unavoidable. Further changes may also be required as the airline progresses the engine checks.’
A full list of cancellations is here.
The airline has cancelled 82 flights between 10 December and 5 January, affecting 14,000 customers (stock image)