Air New Zealand handler failed to check all cargo weight on international flight

22/01/2015

Air New Zealand initiated an investigation after it found that its Fiji hander had failed to check the weight of about a third of a 27-tonne shipment of cargo before the flight took off. The report found that the government-owned handler, Air Terminal Services, had deficient equipment which was unable to weigh 11 of the 13 ULDs on the aircraft. Some 20 tonnes was perishable, argued the regional cargo manager, who was playing golf at the time and recommended that the flight take off anyway. Air New Zealand, which was alerted mid-flight, notified the Civil Aviation Authority and launched a review. One Fiji agent claimed that ATS had put the wrong shipments on planes “quite a bit in the last six months”.

Comment on this article

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Andy Robins
January 23, 2015 at 2:25 am
How can he not be dismissed, there is strong indications that other flights have left without the total cargo being weighed.
Shippers/Agents have been known to try and shave volume at times, but that is a pure financial loss to the carrier.
If it is known they are not check weighing at the Export shed, could lead shippers/agents to shave off the dead weight, perhaps small at first, but greed can blur this line.
Now you are into a trivial financial loss on cargo revenue, compared to loss of life.
This guy should be in jail.

Log in to Reply