The Prime Minister’s flight in Vietnam suffered a short delay last night as New Zealand Defence Force staff conducted multiple head-counts of passengers, believing there was one too many aboard.
The flight crew conducted multiple head counts of the passengers on the Air Force’s 757 and then asked each passenger on the flight to show their ticket, which led to nervous moments for some as they searched their onboard luggage for their tickets they had put away after boarding the flight.
The plane had to taxi to another part of the runway to prevent holding up other flights as the crew tried to determine who the extra passenger was.
Eventually, after checking passengers’ tickets against the flight manifest, it was determined everyone was a legitimate passenger and the flight took off to Ho Chi Min City about 40 minutes late.
The Prime Minister is on a nine-day tour across Asia, first attending the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, then conducting a three-day trade mission in Vietnam before heading to APEC in Bangkok at the weekend.
The trade delegation includes representatives from a cross-section of New Zealand companies including Zespri, Fonterra and Turners and Growers and more boutique organisations like Boring Oat Milk.
As part of the trade talks New Zealand has already agreed to make it easier for Vietnam to send more limes and pomelos here, while New Zealand is hoping to gain better access for our strawberry and squash exports.
An announcement on those items is expected before the end of the year..
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