Air New Zealand has released its schedule of flights to get stranded New Zealanders home from New South Wales, which is dealing with a major COVID-19 outbreak.
Bookings opened Monday morning with flights departing from Tuesday. Seats will be restricted to the number of spaces available in managed isolation facilities (MIQ) rooms provided by the New Zealand Government.
Flights available with Air NZ can be booked via the airline's website and will be on sale from 10am on Monday, July 12.
Additional information for booking with Air NZ can be found on the airline's Travel Alerts page.
Managed return flights from Sydney will be available from Tuesday, July 13 and will operate to Auckland and Christchurch only.
On arrival, travelers will have to go straight into MIQ.
Eligible Air NZ customers in NSW are encouraged by the airline to follow the steps below:
For a standard booking:
Check Air NZ's website to book managed return seats
Once a customer has secured a flight booking, their MIQ space is automatically confirmed There is no need to book a place in a MIQ before booking with Air NZ as managed isolation bookings are automatically assigned to a customer's flight
If unsuccessful, keep checking back online for available flights
As more MIQ allocations are provided, more corresponding seats will be made available for booking
Stay updated on the latest travel requirements via the COVID-19 website before attempting to book travel.
For compassionate consideration:
The Government is managing compassionate requests for returning travellers
If customers wish to apply for a compassionate ticket on the basis of urgent and exceptional circumstances, they will need to contact the Government directly on +64 4 439 8235 or NSW2NZ@mfat.govt.nz.
Air NZ's Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty said that while the airline is doing all it can to facilitate the return of Kiwis home from NSW, not everyone will be able to travel immediately.
Air NZ's schedule up to July 23 is as follows:
Air NZ says it is expecting exceptionally high demand for its contact centres.
