Today, Queenstown Airport welcomed the arrival of the first international Air New Zealand flights in almost a year. Flights NZ264 from Melbourne, and NZ260 from Brisbane touched down this afternoon.
General Manager Corporate & Community Affairs Sara Irvine says it’s great to have our national carrier return to the trans-Tasman route on the same day Aotearoa New Zealand celebrates Matariki.
“Te iti o Tāhuna, Wakatipu High School’s kapa haka group, gave a beautiful Matariki performance at the airport this afternoon to mark this special day and welcome friends and whānau arriving from Australia on Air New Zealand’s first trans-Tasman flight in almost a year.”
Air New Zealand is the third airline to restart flying internationally to and from Queenstown Airport since borders reopened.
“The winter ahead is looking positive in terms of arrivals into Queenstown Airport, although we aren’t expecting to reach pre-Covid levels this year. During the peak winter period, airlines have scheduled similar capacity on domestic routes to what they had in 2019 and about 75% on international routes."