Air NZ jet to evacuate Kiwis

The Government will charter an Air New Zealand aircraft to assist Kiwis leaving coronavirus-hit Wuhan, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.

The aircraft will have capacity for about 300 passengers and will fly from the Chinese city to New Zealand.

New Zealand would be offering any additional seats to Pacific Island and Australian citizens as a matter of priority, Peters said yesterday.

The news came as health officials announced they were still working on where to quarantine the evacuees and were considering using hotels.

Officials will be working through requirements with Air New Zealand and Chinese authorities and developing procedures for pre-departure health screening of passengers, infection control in flight, and up to two weeks of isolation for all passengers arriving in New Zealand.

Those on the plane would be required to pay a nominal fee, Peters said.

‘‘This is a complex operation as we work through all the necessary requirements but we are working to have the aircraft depart as soon as possible.’’

Consular teams would be working with health officials to ensure that the risks of transmission of the coronavirus to New Zealand were carefully managed, he said.

New Zealanders in the Hubei region who were registered on SafeTravel have been emailed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to register interest in the flight, which was subject to Chinese Government approval, he said.

‘‘We encourage all New Zealanders in the Hubei region to register on SafeTravel and ensure all their details are accurate and up to date.

‘‘This will give us a better understanding of the level of demand for this flight,’’ he said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the timing of a flight was dependent on access to Chinese authorities, who had demands from a range of countries to assist in getting their citizens out.

The most important thing was to have a plane ready and then get permission.

The Government was working with the Ministry of Health on quarantine and was taking a ‘‘strong public health approach’’, she said.

‘‘We know we need to have in place a plan to give New Zealanders confidence that their health is top of mind.

‘‘So, with returning New Zealanders, they are appropriately quarantined for a period of time.’’

Christmas Island had been ruled out because New Zealand had the ability to provide its own quarantine and isolation, she said. The ministry had pandemic plans in place.

Health Minister David Clark said there were still no confirmed cases of the virus in New Zealand, and he assured the public they would be notified if there were.

There were 163 New Zealanders registered on SafeTravel as being in Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 130 Chinese nationals.

Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said advice was there was a small chance victims could transmit the virus before fully showing symptoms.