If a plane has to make an unscheduled landing, that often means there’s been some kind of medical emergency on board.
But an Air New Zealand plane had a very different reason for making an unplanned stop yesterday – they were picking up the country’s prime minister after his government aircraft broke down.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and a group of prominent business leaders were en route to Tokyo for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
A New Zealand Defence Force plane carrying Prime Minister Luxon experienced technical difficulties and was unable to continue the journey to Tokyo. Fortunately, Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran arranged for a commercial flight to pick up the stranded passengers, including Luxon, and continue the trip. Coincidentally, Luxon had previously served as the CEO of Air New Zealand before entering politics.
In 2022, then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was forced to spend additional time at the country’s Scott Base in Antarctica when the plane that was supposed to take her back home had a mechanical issue.