paint peeling on the wings of the aircrafts. An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said the matter did not present any safety concerns, nor does it impact the integrity or structure of the aircraft. Nevertheless, the airline is working with Boeing to resolve the issue. “Boeing is working to provide both an immediate as well as longer term solution,” she said.
She did not reveal how many of Air New Zealand’s 14 Dreamliners were affected, but noted that it was a matter affecting the global fleet of 787s. If the airline is forced to ground the aircrafts again on account of the paint issues, there are aircrafts which it can call on to meet any operational capacity. Last year, when the pandemic caused a collapse of the aviation industry, like many airlines across the globe, Air New Zealand put its surplus aircraft into storage. Accordingly, three Boeing 777-300ERs were stored in Auckland while four were sent to the US for storage. Its fleet of Boeing 777-200ERs were also retired early during this period.
According to the spokeswoman, the aircrafts in Auckland are being actively managed under a low utilisation maintenance programme. “The aircraft have been kept in New Zealand for ease of availability for a potential return to service when required,” she said. “Regarding a return to operation, no decision has been made pending operational requirements for the fleet.”
