Air NZ granted another 24 hours to get people home

Air New Zealand has been granted another 24 hours to get people home home during lockdown from Queenstown. 

New Zealand moved into Alert Level 4 lockdown on Tuesday at 11.59pm after a Covid-19 community case of the Delta variant was confirmed in a man in Devonport, Auckland. He visited Coromandel last weekend while infected. There are now 21 confirmed cases - all in Auckland.

Currently, the lockdown is in place for three days nationwide, except for Auckland and Coromandel, which will be in lockdown for at least seven days. 

Kiwis not at their usual place of residence had initially been given 48 hours to get home by the Government - a window that had been set to close at midnight tonight.

However, the Government this afternoon extended this by 24 hours to allow Air New Zealand to fly Kiwis home from the South Island resort town.

Air New Zealand said it would operate seven services from Queenstown to Auckland, and Queenstown to Wellington to ensure that customers can get home safely for the remainder of the lockdown period.

Flights would be available this afternoon to book via the Air New Zealand website. The schedule is as follows:

Air New Zealand chief executive officer Greg Foran said this afternoon he was relieved that the Government had extended the grace period by an additional 24 hours.

“We said it on Tuesday, and we will say it again. Delivering Kiwis home safely during this period is our priority, so we are grateful that the Government has allowed us to do just that.

“Yesterday we added four additional services out of Queenstown for today, and they sold out within minutes. Queenstown is a popular holiday destination, so it’s no surprise to us that it’s where the pressure is coming from.

“We estimate there is somewhere around 600 people requiring flights, so we are confident that the additional 700 seats tomorrow will ensure that there are options for those that need it. As always, we will continue to monitor the demand and adjust as needed”.

The Air New Zealand contact centre and social media team are currently experiencing very high demand, and the airline is grateful to customers for their patience while it works through these changes, he said.

The Queenstown Airport Corporation said in a statement this morning that Air New Zealand and Jetstar had added 10 extra flight movements (five  arrivals and five departures) to their schedules to enable more people to fly out of the resort today.

QAC operations and safety general manager Mike Clay said it had been working with the airlines to facilitate travel for those wanting to get home quickly.

Wanaka Airport had no scheduled services today.

Air New Zealand said when the grace period ends it would adjust its domestic schedule in line with Alert Level 4 restrictions nationwide.

The airline would operate a limited domestic scheduled to allow for essential travel only, from Friday, August 20 to Tuesday, August 24.

It said customers booked to travel on Friday would receive a cancellation email, and their bookings held in credit.

"During alert level 4, travel is restricted to essential services only," said an update from the airline.

"Customers who are travelling should check they are eligible to travel under alert level 4 on the Government's Covid-19 website.

"These customers will also need to carry a letter to prove they are travelling for essential services."

- Reporting by ODT Online, Guy Williams and NZ Herald