Taiwan oversight in Air NZ turnaround
An Air New Zealand plane that was forced to turn around en route to Shanghai did so for diplomatic reasons, but not because of recent unease with New Zealand’s relationship with China.
Multiple sources say paperwork for the Air NZ flight 289, which returned to Auckland after several hours in the air, included reference to Taiwan that China took to be an acknowledgement that the island was independent.
Although they share language and culture, China and Taiwan have a highly unusual relationship, dating to the Chinese revolution in 1949. Both claim sovereignty over the other.
Mainland China (the People’s Republic of China) refuses to have diplomatic relations with any nation that recognises Taiwan (which calls itself the Republic of China) as independent.
Sources say officials in Beijing warned Air New Zealand in 2018 to remove reference to any paperwork suggesting Taiwan was a state, but someone forgot to do so.
The problem related to documentation from New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that was included as part of the airline’s application to allow the particular plane to land in China.
According to sources ‘‘the Chinese were very explicit’’ about what the issue was; however, the issue was not resolved. The source added that the airline ‘‘could have cast a political lens’’ over the CAA documentation but did not do so.
CAA disputed the version of events, without giving details.
The issue has created a headache for the Government, with increasing questions about the true state of relations between New Zealand and China.
Air New Zealand had not responded to a request for comment before publication.
In April last year China’s Civil Aviation Administration ordered a number of international airlines to change how Taiwan was described on their websites and promotional material.
A month later Air New Zealand was asked whether it had received any order from China in regards to how it referred to Taiwan. ‘‘We’ve not received any communication of this nature,’’ a spokeswoman said at the time.
Air New Zealand announced in February last year that it would begin flying between Auckland and Taiwan’s capital city, Taipei, from November 1.
The route is serviced by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The flight on Saturday was the first time the particular plane had flown to Shanghai.
Data from flight-tracking website flightaware.com shows the aircraft turned away from Shanghai, with registration ZK-NZQ, has not flown to Taiwan since at least January 28.
Air New Zealand’s marketing material for Taipei excludes any reference to Taiwan being a state or country, instead calling it a ‘‘central Asian destination’’ and a ‘‘subtropical region’’.