Antibiotics were offloaded from a flight departing Auckland for Samoa because there wasn't enough room in the hold - a move that has drawn criticism from a pharmacist.
Photo: Unsplash / Douglas Bagg
Air New Zealand has admitted the medicine destined for a pharmacy in Samoa was left behind because there wasn't enough room for it in the cargohold, and the space was needed for passengers' luggage.
The airline told the Samoa Observer there was a limited number of flights from New Zealand to Samoa at the moment, but passenger numbers had increased, causing the reduction in cargo space.
Apia pharmacist Maria Westerlund-Hunter told the newspaper the decision was alarming.
"Whoever made the call to offload those boxes need to realise that we [pharmacies] are part of the health system in Samoa."
She has raised her concern with the Samoan government and Air New Zealand, hoping to ensure medical stocks will always be available to those who need them.
In June it was confirmed that Samoa's national carrier Samoa Airways would no longer be operating long-haul flights between Apia, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland.
Air New Zealand said it understood that less frequent flights, paired with high customer demand, had put more pressure on airfreight availability and brought challenges for those trying to move goods around.
"Due to the seasonal nature of cargo there will be occasional flights where cargo demand will exceed capacity."
The airline said when borders into Samoa reopen in August it was due to operate more flights, and cargo capacity would increase.
"Flights will increase to five from October and daily from November as demand is expected to grow which should ease some of the airfreight capacity issues."