Air NZ to Operate Quarantine Flights Between Australia and NZ

Air New Zealand announced on Friday (17 September) that it will operate a limited number of quarantine flights between Australia and New Zealand to assist travellers in returning home after the New Zealand government announced that quarantine-free travel would be restricted for an additional eight weeks.

Since the Australian government’s halt is still up in the air, quarantine-free flights between Australia and the United States will be cancelled from September 25 to November 30.

Due to the Australian government’s provision of managed isolation areas, Air New Zealand is now able to run a few quarantine flights to let Australians return home. There will be no flights between New Zealand and Australia between the 25th and the 30th of November.

Customers will receive a cancellation email and a credit for their flight. Flying to Australia for quarantine will be available for booking on Monday, September 20th at 10am New Zealand time. Customers will automatically be assigned a MIQ room once they have made their flight reservations.

You will have to pay separately for obligatory isolation. Customers will be able to book flights via the Air New Zealand site. Customers are asked not to contact the airline’s phone centre because these flights are only accessible online and there is no waitlist.

Customers who secure a MIQ slot made available by the New Zealand government can fly quarantined back to New Zealand from Australia using the airline’s quarantine flights. From September 25 to November 30, all flights from Australia to New Zealand will be cancelled. 

After the deadline, customers will be notified via email of their cancellation and given a credit against a future flight.

On Monday, September 20, at 9 a.m. New Zealand time, quarantine flights from Australia to New Zealand will be made available for purchase. As a result, the airline is requesting that passengers make their MIQ reservations for a day that coincides with the carrier’s revised schedule. There will be a 48-hour grace period following the purchase of a MIQ lodging before customers must schedule their flights. Customers can book all flights to New Zealand directly through Air New Zealand’s website or through a travel agent. Customers are urged not to phone the airline’s call centre.

Air New Zealand’s Chief Customer and Sales Officer, Leanne Geraghty, said the carrier would continue to operate flights as long as MIQ slots are available in Australia or New Zealand. “We appreciate that folks seeking to get home are going through a really tough situation right now,” the spokesperson said.

When it comes to getting clients back to their destinations as fast and safely as possible, we’re committed,” Geraghty added.

By Joe Cusmano