Air NZ hiring 115 more crew as it braces for tougher border requirements

Air New Zealand is rehiring an additional 115 Airbus A320 crew on fixed term contracts after the Ministry of Health asked the airline to prepare for tighter border requirements. The news comes swiftly after the airline confirmed that 40 long haul crew were last week recalled on fixed term contracts to accommodate changes to its international schedule, including new layover protocols for North American flights. The recruitment drive is in addition to 175 narrowbody cabin crew being recalled from furlough in preparation for Tasman and Cook Island travel bubbles, and the hiring of regional cabin crew on fixed term contracts in four centres. Over the past nine months the airline let go of more than 4000 staff and downsized by a third as it navigated headwinds created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Air New Zealand general manager cabin crew Leeanne Langridge said the Ministry of Health asked the airline to consider additional options for international air crew in the event that border requirements may need to tighten or overseas destinations move to a higher risk category due to rapidly increasing Covid-19 cases. <br/>