Airline fined $12,000 for late landing.

A Qantas-owned airline has been fined $12,000 for breaching a flight landing curfew at Wellington International Airport.

Jetconnect was sentenced today in Wellington District Court after pleading guilty to breaching curfew restrictions set out in Wellington City Council's district plan.

The breach happened on September 18. The international flight had been delayed in Sydney and the plane eventually landed in Wellington 17 minutes past a 30-minute grace-period for disrupted flights, at 1.47am.

Night-flying curfews to prevent aircraft noise affecting nearby residents prohibit international flights landing between 1am and 6am, with disrupted flights allowed 30 minutes' leeway.

Jetconnect argued the breach was because of factors beyond its control. Adverse weather and turbulence made the plane arrive late in Sydney and necessitated an inspection by engineers before it was eventually replaced. The Wellington-bound aircraft was further delayed on the Sydney runway when another aircraft suffered bird strike.

Judge Jan Kelly said there were no aggravating factors in Jetconnect's offending and it had tried to make alternative arrangements at Auckland and Christchurch airports when the pilots realised the flight was unlikely to meet the curfew deadline.

"There was a genuine reason for the breach. The flight was disrupted for safety reasons and attempts were made to divert."

But although it could have landed at Christchurch Airport, the pilots decided a "Qantas personnel shortage" meant passengers could not be processed there, so chose to land at Wellington, she said.

In this respect the pilots chose to breach Wellington Airport curfew restrictions to avoid significant financial and logistical difficulties that would otherwise have affected the airline. It therefore "did not take all necessary steps to avoid a breach".

Thought the council that acknowledged the breach was not premeditated or deliberate, it wanted the airline penalised so the case would act as a deterrent to other carriers. Council officials argued the fine should not be so low that it would be "regarded as being a fee for offending".

Judge Kelly convicted Jetconnect and fined the airline $12,000 plus court costs, taking into account its early guilty plea, lack of prior convictions and full cooperation. The money is to be paid to the council.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz