Plane carrying New Zealand Prime Minister breaks down en route to Japan

New Zealand Army Boeing 757

The above information was confirmed by the New Zealand Prime Minister's office today, June 17.

The New Zealand Prime Minister is currently in Japan on a four-day official visit. He is expected to meet his host counterpart, Kishida Fumio, and spend time promoting New Zealand trade during the visit.

New Zealand media reported that the New Zealand military Boeing 757 carrying the leader broke down during a refueling stop in Papua New Guinea, leaving the trade delegation and journalists behind while Mr. Luxon had to take a commercial flight to Japan.

The Boeing 757 was supposed to stop at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, for only 90 minutes on June 16. After the incident occurred and the flight was delayed for 1 hour, a New Zealand military spokesman confirmed that not one but two fuses had blown on the plane.

Meanwhile, Trade Minister Todd McClay told Radio New Zealand that the 52-person delegation's airfare to Japan would be paid for. They were given beer and chips to snack on while they waited in Port Moresby before boarding a late-night Air New Zealand flight to Tokyo. It is unclear how much the extra cost would be.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Luxon was also forced to switch to a commercial flight en route to Melbourne after a military plane broke down before leaving the runway in Wellington.

Defence Minister Judith Collins confirmed that the prime minister's plane has been having repeated problems, so the ministry is studying the possibility of the New Zealand government delegation switching to commercial flights from now on.

New Zealand's Defence Ministry is struggling with ageing equipment and a lack of manpower. The government says it wants to increase defence spending but also wants to reduce the budget as the country faces economic difficulties.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/may-bay-cho-thu-tuong-new-zealand-bi-hong-tren-duong-den-nhat-ban-185240617082327053.htm