Air New Zealand staff asked to volunteer time to fill gaps in workforce

Air New Zealand has asked staff to take extra hours and volunteer time to fill gaps in the airline’s workforce during the busy holiday period in July. The airline said it was experiencing its busiest winter holiday season in three years and cited a higher than usual employee sickness rate as a cause of the shortages.

In a letter addressed to staff, which was seen by local newspaper The New Zealand Herald on July 14, 2022, Air New Zealand said that it is “looking for some wonderful willing volunteers” who can help the struggling carrier “spread some magic with our customers during the school holiday period at Auckland (AKL), Wellington (WLG) and Christchurch (CHC) airports”.

“Like our flights, your wonderful skills are in demand,” the airline said, adding that it requires additional help from now until July 25, 2022.