The Prime Minister has had to miss bilateral meetings in Australia this morning after a maintenance after the Defence Force plane couldn't take off due to a maintenance fault.

Christopher Luxon was supposed to fly across the ditch early this morning to meet Southeast Asian leaders including the presidents of the Philippines and Indonesia, along with the prime ministers of Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

After multiple delays he was advised to take a commercial flight to Melbourne instead.

The plane has a history of problems, last year then Prime Minister Chris Hipkins copped criticism for taking a backup plane to China in case the Defence Force plane broke down.

Political reporter Anneke Smith spoke to Charlotte Cook.