Airport workers defy injunction, disrupt Air NZ flights

4.00 pm

Air New Zealand flights in and out of Melbourne have been hit by a union blockade at Melbourne airport.

Five Air New Zealand planes are under blockade by workers angry at yesterday's closure of Air NZ subsidiary Ansett Australia.

The workers are defying an injunction issued yesterday by an Australian court which ordered them to lift their blockade and allow Air New Zealand aircraft to be refueled and serviced.

Last night, Prime Minister Helen Clark had to be flown home in an RNZAF Orion, after her Air New Zealand flight was prevented from leaving the gate at Melbourne by workers who put baggage trucks in its way.

She said she was told she would not be allowed to leave on a Qantas aircraft either.

This morning, Qantas baggage handlers placed a ban on handling all Air New Zealand flights, leaving passengers stranded.

Air New Zealand cancelled two flights to Melbourne this morning. The flights were NZ 151 from Wellington and NZ 121 from Auckland.

Two flights this afternoon have been delayed and are currently sheduled to depart at 7.30 pm today. They are NZ 125 from Auckland and NZ 193 from Christchurch.

Passengers are advised to ring Air New Zealand before heading to the airport - but should be prepared to wait 15 minutes or more on the phone as airline staff are being swamped by calls.

The airline says it operated 11 flights last night between Australia and New Zealand to clear a backlog of passengers.

Air New Zealand says today's flights to Sydney and Brisbane are operating normally although passengers may experience some delays.

Unions are also threatening to shut down Sydney airport next week unless the Australian government comes to the aid of Ansett, which Air New Zealand cut adrift this week following a $1.3 billion writedown of its investment in Australia's second-largest airline.