Pressure growing to fill planes safely as fast as possible to spur revival of aviation — and NZ

Pressure is growing in New Zealand to make face masks compulsory on planes to help make the aviation sector more viable and protect jobs. Normally, the prospect of wanting to squeeze in tighter to fellow passengers and being made to wear a mask just wouldn’t fly.

But these are not normal times. There is growing recognition that the longer airlines can’t fill their planes the more expensive flying will become and the longer it will take for these important businesses to recover.

Along the way, too many aviation and tourism jobs are being lost. If there’s a way to get this country moving again — safely — there is no time to lose.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says relaxing rules over distancing in planes could be part of incremental changes within alert level 2 as part of the Government’s need to not be too doctrinaire on the health front as the economic crisis deepens.

While antagonism between airlines and unions over redundancies is starting to spill over publicly, they are united in wanting the sector to recover.

The union representing cabin crew at Jetstar, Air New Zealand and Auckland-based Qantas crew said it supported a suggestion by pilots in this country to make mask-wearing compulsory in order to fill the “middle seat” to fulfil physical distancing guidelines.

E tu¯ says its first priority was the safety of cabin crew and passengers but it was also important that airlines are allowed to fly and that the industry can rebuild and improve.

“If masks and other public health measures mean more seats can be filled and flying can get back to normal sooner that is a gain for the industry, for cabin crew and the travelling public,” said the union’s head of aviation, Savage.

There are signs of recovery overseas with some airlines restoring international routes — with passengers wearing masks — and here Air New Zealand is expanding its domestic network gradually. But jobs are disappearing fast in this country.

On Wednesday, E tu¯ revealed 1300 flight attendants — half Air NZ’s total cabin crew — will lose their jobs and 300 of the airline’s pilots are also being made redundant. Their union, the NZ Air Line Pilots Association, is