Air New Zealand staff asked to volunteer hours to plug July schedule gaps

Air New Zealand staff are being asked to pull extra hours and volunteer time to keep the airline on course during busy school holidays.

Staff at Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland were asked to fill gaps and take the strain off colleagues over the busiest July in three years.

"Like our flights, your wonderful skills are in demand," read the message sent to staff.

"We're looking for some wonderful willing Air New Zealand volunteers who can help us to spread some magic with our customers during the school holiday period (now through to 25 July) at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch airports."

With 672,000 ticketed to fly with the airline domestically and internationally it is the busiest winter holiday since pre-pandemic.

Adding to this is a "higher than usual employee sickness" says Group GM of Airports, Chloe Surridge.

"To help alleviate some of the pressure on our frontline teams we put a call out for volunteers to help in our busy airports."

Surridge said the airline had operated the volunteer-based system before to cope with particularly busy holiday periods. Volunteers are being asked for additional hours in mornings and peak periods around these three airports.

The airline did not respond to questions about whether staff were being paid regular rates or offered time off in leiu for extra hours volunteered.

"We always get overwhelming support from our people for these opportunities and in the past," she said, thanking teams who picked up extra shifts at check-in kiosks and bag drops.

"It's a challenging time for everyone and we are so grateful for the patience and support of our team and our customers while we work through this period."

Last week the airline warned customers that there could be extra pressures on the airline whose staffing issues are being exacerbated by illness. On Friday they said that passengers should be prepared for disruptions and that there would be limited space to accommodate changes to flights.

"Should someone's travel plans be disrupted, we ask them to rest assured we will try our best to reaccommodate and get them to where they need to be," said a spokesperson for the airline.

"Unfortunately because our flights are so full, there is little slack in the schedule."

With call centre waiting times of up to three hours, the airline says self-service options to manage flights will be easiest. Travellers affected by disruption can select the next available flight, or opting for credit with the airline via the Travel Alerts website.

"Our customer teams are working around the clock to minimise disruptions and we are thanking customers for their patience during a rather busy period," they said.

Air New Zealand warned that crew illness meant there was very little slack in the July holiday schedule. Photo / File

Tips to cut through airport chaos

Check your flight status online Airlines will try to flag disruptions as soon as possible. If your flights have been affected it's best to know ahead of time, so you can replan your travel.

Arrive in plenty of time particularly for international flights Cut-off times for most flights are at least an hour before travel. However airlines are advising passengers to turn up even earlier. Although many destinations have eased most Pandemic-related restrictions - Australia dumped their 'Digital Passenger Declaration' this week, some destinations still require lengthy checks which add time at the airport.
With volume of passengers adding to pinch points at AVSec screening, it's worth making sure you have plenty of time to get through the terminals.

Bring a snack It's not only airlines that have been hit by staffing issues. Many contractors in retail and catering options are low on workers, with some facing short-notice staffing issues from Covid. If you've not flown internationally for a while Don't expect the usual selection of food and beverage options. (Or any at all if you're flying late.) Bring a snack!

Fly light Air New Zealand is advising passengers on the domestic network to fly with hand-luggage to avoid queues at check in kiosks.