Pilot who flew to Alexandra from Auckland had exemption

A flight into Central Otago from Auckland on Monday evening was piloted by an essential worker and was not in breach of Covid-19 travel restrictions, an Alexandra Airport spokesman says.

The Cessna 182S Skylane with just the pilot on board left Auckland's Ardmore Airport at 6.24pm completing the 1022km flight in four hours and 27 minutes landing in Alexandra at 11.33pm.

Alexandra Airport is unmanned but a Central Otago Flying Club spokesman confirmed the flight had taken place.

The pilot was an essential worker who had called prior to making the flight and provided all necessary documentation pertaining to travel under Covid-19 restrictions, he said.