Glitch grounds PM's plane enroute to Chogm

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Prime Minister John Key's trip to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago has hit an early glitch after the military plane he is travelling on encountered technical problems in Honolulu.

The air force Boeing 757 has been delayed for at least three hours while the unspecified problem is fixed.

Mr Key is taking the leaders of Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati and Vanuatu with him to the CHOGM summit, where climate change and the global economic downturn are high on the agenda.

The delay in Honolulu is the second technical glitch to have hit the travelling party.

Yesterday, the plane had to divert to Tonga to pick up its prime minister, Fred Sevele, after problems with lights at Tonga's international ariport meant he could not get to Samoa, where Mr Key was picking up other leaders en route to Trinidad and Tobago.