Air New Zealand cuts its domestic schedule due to a national lockdown

Air New Zealand will reduce its domestic schedule on August 20 to just seven daily flights on five domestic routes.

The reduction is due to the discovery of a Delta variant in the country on August 17 forced the government to impose a strict lockdown for at least seven days.

Air New Zealand has made this announcement:

During Alert Level 4, travel is restricted to essential services only. Customers who are traveling should check they are eligible to travel under Alert Level 4 on the Government’s COVID-19 website, as travel is severely limited.

For the next 48 hours, the airline will continue to operate its current schedule around the country to enable customers to return home to their place of residence.

Food and beverage service onboard domestic flights will be suspended in response to the latest community case and this suspension will remain in place until further notice. Water is available on request on all flights. From tonight, Air New Zealand’s lounges will be closed.

Valet parking will be closed to new bookings, however will stay open for 48 hours for customers to retrieve their vehicle.

While the country is at elevated Alert Levels, Air New Zealand will be taking extra precautions to keep its staff and customers safe. Air New Zealand front line staff and cabin crew will be wearing masks and gloves, and customers are still required to wear face coverings onboard.

Customers throughout New Zealand with existing bookings for travel between 17 August and 24 August will be able change their booking with change fees and any fare difference waived through to 31 August. Customers can do this via our online booking tool. Those who have booked through a third party will need to contact their agent.

In addition to this, customers who hold a ticket for a domestic flight scheduled to depart up until 30 September are able to opt in for credit and can do this via the airline’s online booking tool.

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.

Top Copyright Photo: Air New Zealand Airbus A320-232 ZK-OJS (msn 4926) AKL (Colin Hunter). Image: 923806.

Air New Zealand aircraft slide show:

Source: https://worldairlinenews.com/2021/08/18/air-new-zealand-cuts-its-domestic-schedule-due-to-a-national-lockdown/