Air New Zealand Auckland domestic lounge unable to serve alcohol

The airline may be Air NZ, but the drinks are virgin.
The airline may be Air NZ, but the drinks are virgin. Photo credit: Getty Images

Air New Zealand's domestic lounge at Auckland Airport has found itself in the awkward position of not being able to offer alcohol to its members.

One passenger who spoke to Newshub described the issue as a "bit of a whoops".

Peter Knight, Auckland Council's manager of alcohol licensing, told Newshub the license lapsed as no contact was made with the council before it was due to expire.

"As part of Auckland Council's alcohol licence renewal policy, all applicants get a reminder letter one month before their licence is due to expire," said Knight.

"In the case of the Air NZ Koru Lounge, the council sent them a letter on October 21, 2019."

"Unfortunately, Air NZ did not contact council to renew their liquor licence for the Koru Lounge on time and it has expired. They have now been in contact and we are working with all our partner agencies to try and resolve this issue as soon as possible."

Air NZ said Koru members are welcome to visit the regional lounge instead, or stick with the non-alcoholic options available, and apologised for any inconvenience.

"We hope to have this sorted soon," the airline said in a statement.