Covid 19 coronavirus: Chartered South African repatriation flight for stranded Kiwis denied authorisation

An application to allow a private mercy flight to bring back 185 New Zealanders and visa holders stranded in South Africa has been refused, but more information is being sought from the company behind the chartered flight.

The Ministry of Transport today confirmed the private repatriation flight chartered by Maple Aviation had not been given permission to land as the ministry's focus was on using scheduled international flights to get people home from across the world.

"The proposed Air Zimbabwe flight being chartered by Maple Aviation has not received flight authorisation," economic regulation manager Tom Forster said.

"As part of the flight authorisation process, the ministry are in contact with Maple Aviation and are awaiting further information from the air charter company.

"At this stage New Zealand's focus is for the small number of remaining New Zealand citizens in South Africa to use existing commercially-operated flights out of South Africa to return to New Zealand."

He added the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had already supported the repatriation of more than 400 New Zealanders since April in this way.

It will be a blow for families, many of whom have been separated from loved ones for most of this year and are pinning their hopes on the flight getting the green light in the coming week before a number of the passengers' visas expire.

The chartered craft, a Zimbabwe Air Boeing, had already been given permission to leave South Africa and land again on the return leg and included a planned fuel stopover in Jakarta.

Earlier this week, Napier woman Kimberly Aukett, who is 28 weeks' pregnant and found herself stranded in South Africa by the pandemic, was running out of time to get a flight before she was barred from flying.

She and her partner managed to get a seat on a commercial flight, and landed in Auckland and entered two weeks' managed isolation earlier this week.