New Zealand’s prime minister was forced to board a commercial flight to Japan when his air force plane broke down while refuelling in Papua New Guinea, his office stated today.
Christopher Luxon moved late Sunday to a scheduled flight from Port Moresby to Tokyo via Hong Kong due to a technical issue with the New Zealand Defence Force Boeing 757 aircraft he was flying in.
A defence spokesperson said, “A problem with a command module for a small flap on the wing meant the aircraft could not fly as high or as fast as normal, affecting its range”.
It was discovered while the aircraft was on the ground in Papua New Guinea.
“A delegation of business leaders and media accompanying Luxon had to wait until Monday to fly on the Air Force 757 to Brisbane and then catch a commercial flight to Tokyo”, the spokesperson continued.
Luxon is scheduled to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his four-day visit.
In March, the New Zealand PM had to travel commercially to Australia for meetings with Southeast Asian leaders after his defence force plane’s landing gear failed while still on the runway in Wellington.
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