Covid 19 coronavirus: Mystery repatriation flight lands in Dunedin from Cambodia

Name: Focus: Inside New Zealand’s third week in Covid-19 lockdown
Uploaded: 2020-04-16T22:43:27+12:00
Duration: 181 s
Description: New Zealand’s third week in lockdown was it's most deadly, but as new case numbers continue to fall, NZ remains optimistic that Level 4 restrictions may be lifted on schedule.

By Hamish MacLean

Otago Daily Times·

22 Apr, 2020 06:39 PM2 mins to read

New Zealand’s third week in lockdown was it's most deadly, but as new case numbers continue to fall, NZ remains optimistic that Level 4 restrictions may be lifted on schedule.

Amid the global Covid-19 pandemic, what appears to be a repatriation flight arrived in Dunedin from Cambodia yesterday afternoon.

The Bombardier Global Express jet will depart again tomorrow to take 10 international visitors home, a Customs spokesman said, Stuff reported.

Dunedin Airport chief executive Richard Roberts said the airport would not release any information — about who was on board or where they were coming from — for any charter flights.

He confirmed it was likely related to a repatriation.

''It gets in today and it leaves tomorrow.''

The Bombadier Global Express jet has a range of 11,100km. Photo / Peter McIntosh

He said he could not say what the direction of travel was.

Roberts had not heard of the company VistaJet, to which the 11,100km-range business jet belonged.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but issued a statement on March 25 that it was offering complimentary ''empty-leg flights'' for governments and medical transportation during the global Covid-19 pandemic.

VistaJet founder and chairman Thomas Flohr said the company had created a dedicated web page to channel all requests from governments and medical organisations to ensure prioritisation, address the most critical cases, and manage safety screening.

The Southern District Health Board did not reply to a request for comment yesterday.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

Meanwhile, Air New Zealand has released a new limited domestic schedule for flights during alert level 3.

It will run return flights from Auckland to Christchurch, Wellington, Tauranga and Napier, from Wellington to Christchurch and Nelson, and from Christchurch to Dunedin.

The airline transported just 175 passengers yesterday in what might be a record low, chief revenue officer Cam Wallace said in a tweet.

Very light (polite description) domestic essential worker travel today on @FlyAirNZ only 175 passengers booked across 14 flights. Will check the statistics to establish whether this is a (bad) record. @andykirton
— Cam Wallace (@CamWallace_NZ) April 21, 2020

According to the BBC, Cambodia has 122 cases of Covid-19 coronavirus, and zero deaths.