AUCKLAND (Sachin Sharma): The New Zealand High Commission to India has cleared that currently no private charter flights from India to New Zealand have necessary approvals and asked stranded Kiwis to be careful before providing any personal information or paying to any person or agency for any such flight.
In a statement on its Facebooke page the High Commission wrote, “We have been made aware of some groups claiming to be operating private charter flights to New Zealand. There are currently no private charter flights departing from India to New Zealand that have the necessary approvals.”
“Please think carefully before providing personal information (including your date of birth and passport number) or paying deposits to any person or agency claiming to be able to offer private charter flights to New Zealand at this stage,” the commission wrote.
“We also encourage people to do their due diligence before giving out personal information on social media, documents which are publicly accessible (such as Google Docs or Sheets), or unknown websites, to ensure this data will not be misused.”
“A good approach for protecting your personal data online is to only share information when you know who is asking for the information, why they want it, and what they will do with it,” the High Commission said.
It asked New Zealanders who have not been able to return home to take steps to stay safely where they are, and seek consular assistance if needed. They have been asked to see New Zealand government’s SafeTravel website (www.safetravel.govt.nz) regarding what consular assistance can be provided.