The flight will enter into the southern auroral window, southeast of New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
The flight will enter into the southern auroral window, southeast of New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
Air New Zealand's decision to staff its chartered Southern Lights flight with international crew has raised the eyebrows of staff and a leading epidemiologist.
Tour company Viva Expeditions has chartered a Boeing 787 for the keen aurora hunters as they chase the Southern Lights on March 20.
The flight is being headed by Otago's Dr Ian Griffin and will have a team of astrophysicists on board.
It is timed to coincide with the autumnal equinox, and will bring aspiring astro-tourists to the lights, flying south to almost within the Antarctic circle.
A concerned staff member raised concerns there would only be a three- to four-day turnaround.
Air NZ have defended the decision, stating it's an "average of six days".
The staffer said the crew would be flying in from a variety of Covid-19 hot-spot ports including Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Shanghai.
"These crew will be transporting people in that same time frame, returning home, getting a test, hopefully a negative result, then within three or four days operating a domestic flight.
"I'm sure [passengers] won't know that the crew have just returned from overseas."
The source said Air NZ protocols did not allow crew to a domestic, or green, flight without 14 days stand down after a red flight.
"If a 787 went to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane on a green flight, with New Zealand domiciled passengers who don't have to quarantine on arrival in Australia, those crew have to have 14 days stand down from their last red flight.
"I don't see this happening.
"If one of the scenic fight crew then test positive at their next test, we know what the headlines will be."
The flight will enter into the southern auroral window, southeast of New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
The source claimed management were either "being stupid, naive or arrogant in crewing those flights".
"I shouldn't have to point out to them or raise the obvious question of 'are you following protocols that have been in place for a very long time?'."
Another complicating factor was he believed Air NZ 787 crews were not licensed under New Zealand law to serve alcohol because they operate outside New Zealand waters.
An Air New Zealand spokesperson said the crew involved would have an "average period of six days since their last duty".
"We have significant precautions in place for aircrew operating to international destinations to keep themselves and others safe, which our crew take very seriously.
"Aircrew who operate from high-risk destinations - currently Los Angeles and San Francisco - are required to isolate in a hotel for at least 48 hours on return to New Zealand and return a negative Covid-19 test before returning to work."
International aircrew were subject to various testing regimes, including the Ministry of Health's surveillance testing where they were tested at least once a week – "making them one of the most rigorously tested groups in the country".
"On top of this, while on layover overseas, aircrew take dedicated crew transport to and from hotels, wear PPE, and isolate in their hotel room.
"Cabin crew wear masks and gloves on board during face-to-face interactions with customers, and we require travellers to wear a mask or face covering on all international flights to and from New Zealand."
But epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker, of the University of Otago, didn't believe it was worth the risk.
"Is it really necessary for them to have an international crew doing domestic flights in between overseas trips?
Professor Michael Baker says he would prefer if there was no mingling of international crew with Kiwis on the 10-hour flight. Photo / File
"It sounds like something to avoid, to me."
He said the country's most recent Covid-19 community case - an Air NZ staffer - was enough of a reminder that any testing regime or protocols had limitations.
"If you have a test early in infection it will be negative and even at the height of infection it might still be negative so it is much better to do a systematic approach, separate people who have been overseas from local people as much as possible during the incubation period and the most logical way of doing that is to quarantine."
"You have to .. avoid international flight crew mixing with people living in New Zealand as much as possible."
Whether it was classified as an international or domestic flight, from a disease transmission point of view, it was risky.
"It is essentially taking a bunch of people who have not been overseas and putting a crew in there who potentially have and sharing the same indoor environment for 10 hours.
