Comedy of errors on Key’s passage to India
Some would call it the trip from hell, but for those on board the prime minister’s trip to India it was a case of ‘‘she’ll be right, mate’’.
It’s been five years since John Key visited India and as the country barrels towards becoming the most populous in the world, getting a free trade agreement across the line is crucial.
There’s no doubt Key will be frustrated by the events that kept him and his delegation of 80 in Townsville for 24 hours but he’s not rushing home to order a new fleet of planes.
Of the 35 business leaders accompanying Key, only one chose to return home rather than carry on to New Delhi given the innovation showcase – the primary opportunity for business leaders to show off their wares was on the cancelled Mumbai leg.
The rest of the delegation spent Monday night stressing that they were happy, not at all annoyed with the Government and thrilled to still be going to New Delhi to forge relationships where possible.
It was a comedy of errors that played out in Australia when a technical fault delayed re-boarding after refuelling in Townsville.
Once back on board, passengers were told the fault had ‘‘resolved itself’’ and the air force’s Boeing 757 headed off down the runway.
However, it was short-lived and after firing its engines for a whole five seconds, take-off was aborted.
Everyone got off the plane and mingled for a couple of hours while check after check was carried out and the hope of Subway sandwiches being delivered kept spirits high.
As news came that we were to re-board the aircraft, it was National MP Mark Mitchell, who is part of the delegation, who shared his ‘‘gut feeling’’ we wouldn’t be leaving Townsville that day.
Sure enough, a second attempt at take-off was aborted – this time the engines fired for about 12 seconds giving those on board a glimmer of hope we might actually get airborne.
After a 3am wake-up call for most of the delegation, it’s fair to say sleep deprivation was starting to kick in – the only saving grace was that the Australian Defence Force hadn’t cancelled the Subway order so there were sandwiches and cookies to calm any hysteria.
By the time a decision was made to send another plane from New Zealand and let Key stay overnight in Townsville, due to the air force crew needing to rest, the delegation had spent eight hours in a rather small and limited airbase.
But it wasn’t all bad news for Australian media at least – Key’s unexpected stay made front page news in Townsville after a local reporter got wind of a grounded plane and stalked the prime minister all the way to a local pub.
There, Key answered tough questions on what he really thought of Townsville and whether he backed a direct flight between the town and Auckland - it’s ‘‘lovely’’ and yes, he does!
It’s no wonder there was rapturous applause when the replacement plane finally got in the air yesterday morning.
While relations between India and New Zealand are hardly likely to be permanently damaged as a result of the breakdown, it will leave Key a little red-faced when he meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.
As for former Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum, who is travelling with Key – no doubt he’ll book a commercial flight next time the PM offers him a ride to India.