Waste of fish cargo could be avoided in future, say exporters

A prayer for Tonga's political and flying problem - ‘Aisea T Tu‘ikolovatu
I am starting to question the competency of the Air New Zealand agent in Tonga Sue Gardiner, and Press Secretary/Political Advisor to the Hon Prime Minister of Tonga Mr. Lopeti Senituli.

First of all, Mr. Advisor flies out accusing the ANZ agent in Tonga (Letters & Comments: Matangi Tonga; 24 May 2009, 16:14) saying that Miss Gardiner claims to speak with the Prime Minister.

“This quote is totally untrue. Sue Gardiner did not speak with the Hon Prime Minister at all.” said Mr. Senituli.

I had to go back and read the short article again which does not contain such a quote. Matter of fact, Gardiner stated that she spoke with the Minister of Transport Paul Karalus on the phone who relayed the messages back and forth between Gardiner and the Prime Minister.

“I know Tonga does not allow Sunday flights but I just thought I would try anyway because it is so important for our passengers and exporters,” stated Sue Gardiner. (Tonga News: Tourism & Travel; Matangi Tonga Online, 23 March 2009, 11:54.)

Does Gardiner think that the Prime Minister can amend the Law/Constitution of the country (over the phone) for Air New Zealand? Was she suggesting to add a special flight on Sunday night since it was difficult to fly on the other nights?

If you worry about flying over the volcanic activities at night Miss Gardiner then you should fly during the day but never on Sunday because of the law. If you really think it is important for your passengers and exporters then you would have flown over during the day on Saturday. It sounds so much to me that you are using the “request denied” as an excuse for abandoning the perishable goods & passengers.

I pray that the country will find a decent solution for its Political Advisory & flying problems soon. - ‘Aisea T Tu‘ikolovatu

Sunday air service an issue for public debate - Hon Paul Karalus, Minister for Transport
I write to clarify events of last weekend and to correct the impression given in your article “Waste of fish cargo could be avoided in future, say exporters”.

Firstly, and most importantly to all concerned, air services into and within the Kingdom may operate on a Sunday when Saturday services are disrupted. This is to avoid the very circumstances that occurred last weekend and as alluded to in the article. Such operation is considered an essential service.

Secondly, to schedule services on a Sunday is still a matter that is under consideration but is not yet part of the Sunday law.

Thirdly, we need to clarify the events of last weekend. The Friday night flight was rescheduled to operate on the Saturday due to the likelihood of volcanic ash being in the area and as such a night operation would be hazardous and would have put both the aircraft and its passenger and cargo loads at risk. The same evening Sue Gardiner called to request consideration of re-scheduling the Saturday night flight to a daylight Sunday flight . This requires a Cabinet decision so I called the Prime Minister and we considered that a reschedule could not be accommodated at that time. At no time was any mention made of their being perishable cargo as that would have been a consideration in coming to a decision as the Government is fully aware of the importance of fish exports to the economy and to the livelihood of those in the fishing industry.

It is most important to note that the call was made on Friday Air New Zealand had not cancelled the Saturday flight. The flight was scheduled to operate as per the normal schedule and the cancellation was not made until the afternoon of the flight (late Saturday afternoon) when no detailed information could be obtained on the state of the volcano. At this point in time the flight would be considered as a disruption (for very valid technical reasons) to the Saturday schedule and it could have been rescheduled to operate on Sunday. This is permitted under the current law and such occurrences have occurred.

Of course, in such events, the airline will have to consider whether it carry out such a reschedule as there are many factors that go into scheduling a flight.

It must be stated, that the Government does allow Sunday operations where they are the result of disruptions to the Saturday schedule. To suggest otherwise is not correct. Airlines have been advised of this and this policy has been in place for three years. It is important for the airline industry and the fishing industry to be aware of this. This allows for the movement of passengers and cargo on a Sunday in the event of disruptions to Saturday schedules. The scheduling of services on a Sunday remains an issue for public debate and the government is “ready and willing” to listen to such debate, but not to “untruths and half-truths” on the matter.

Sincerely - Hon. Paul Karalus, Minister for Transport.

Editor's Note:

It is clear that on Friday night the disruption to the Saturday flight was anticipated and that's why Air New Zealand requested a Sunday flight.

Whether it was considered to be a “reschedule” or “disruption”, the fact remains that the flight was cancelled and the perishable export cargo suffered. The fish exporters have a right to complain and that was the point of the Matangi Tonga report.