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BARNZ executive director Justin Tighe-Umbers said of the 11 airlines still flying internationally to New Zealand, none had any reported aircrew cases of the virus since April.

He said the concern should be if the Ministry of Health conditions became too stringent for airlines to operate.

Justin Tighe-Umbers

“The Ministry of Health requirements for overseas-based aircrew are pretty specific,” Tighe-Umbers said.

“Basically after using dedicated transport from the airport, aircrew have to self-isolate in their hotel rooms during any stopover. Meals are delivered to their rooms and they cannot use the pool, gym or any other recreational area. They cannot congregate with other crew members.”

Tighe-Umbers said the MOH could perform spot checks or audits to see if conditions were being met.

“We know of seven airlines that have been audited and their systems at their hotels checked.”

He said people should not be surprised that the MOH requirements and aircrew compliance were working.

“Apart from the mandatory use of masks and gloves and other personal protective equipment and measures, the actual number of Covid-19 cases that have crossed the New Zealand border is very small.”

Of the approximately 25,000 people who had come to New Zealand between 9 April and 3 August, there had been 75 people test positive for the virus, around 0.3% of travellers.

“On top of that, the chances of catching Covid-19 during a flight has been shown internationally to be very slim due to the air conditioning and filtration systems in modern aircraft, combined with hygiene protocols and the use of PPE by aircrew,” Tighe-Umbers said.

Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran yesterday confirmed what safety precautions were in place to prevent staff from contracting Covid-19 following a meeting with health minister Chris Hipkins.

The airline’s current protocols had been established in conjunction with the MOH.

“We know these have been working because since early April, we haven’t had a case of Covid-19 in the airline,” Foran said.

“However, we acknowledge that all systems and processes should be regularly reviewed, and we are committed to working with Government to do even more to protect our staff, customers and New Zealanders from Covid-19.”

In addition to the Government’s requirements, several international destinations required Covid-19 testing of aircrew before departure, on arrival, or both.

Foran said the airline’s pilots and cabin crew had borne the brunt of the impact of Covid-19.

“This has tremendous impact on their everyday life and wellbeing. As does having to self-isolate back at home upon returning from higher-risk destinations. This causes disconnection from family, friends and everyday activities,” Foran said.

“To be clear, most of our international destinations have strict protocols in place to ensure crew are not exposed to Covid-19 during their layover.

“Any crew who are symptomatic, or who have had to break isolation offshore to seek medical attention, for example, must enter quarantine on return to New Zealand.”

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The airline was proposing a scheduled direct service for up to 15 return flights a week, following strong support from a community survey.

Sounds Air managing director Andrew Crawford said the airline was negotiating arrangements with Queenstown Airport Corporation and Christchurch International Airport.

A survey it commissioned showed there was “overwhelming support” for the proposed route, with 90% of the 3600 respondents saying they felt ‘positive’ or ‘strongly positive’ about the proposal.

Sounds Air was proposing up to three services per day, making it possible to take a return trip on the same day. The flying time between Wanaka and Christchurch’s airports would be approximately 45 minutes and the route would be serviced by Sounds Air’s Pilatus PC12 aircraft, which held nine passengers.

Source: Sounds Air

Crawford said the survey results showed the service would be embraced by the local communities in Wanaka and across the Sounds Air customer base, which included Christchurch residents.

“These survey results absolutely validate what we have been hearing for the last two and a half years. There is a ready and enthusiastic market for this service, and strong understanding and support for the benefits it would bring,” he said.

Only 3% of respondents said they felt negative or strongly negative towards the proposed route.

Crawford said providing regional air services in New Zealand was more important than ever.

“Regional connectivity not only enables locals to travel but it will support domestic tourism, local business recovery and improved access to health services.”

He said the survey showed an important aspect of the service for the Wanaka community was that it use existing facilities at Wanaka Airport with no requirement to invest in additional infrastructure.

“We understand that many Upper Clutha residents have concerns about the prospect of their community airport becoming a busy commercial operation, but that people also recognise the clear benefits of having regular flights in and out of Wanaka, particularly in the post-Covid environment.”

The survey showed demand for services went beyond pure tourism usage, with 10% of total respondents saying that they would use the services for personal/medical reasons, 21% for business purposes, 68% for holiday and leisure and 42% to visit friends and family.

The data was collected between 23-30 June 2020 and total responses were 3,685, made up of 1,446 (39%) people who lived in or owned a home in Wanaka, and 2,234 (61%) who lived outside the region.

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The 302-seat Dreamliner would operate between Auckland and Christchurch during the break from 1 July – 19 July. It would run 16 return passenger services between the cities, adding almost 10,000 additional seats to the route.

“We’ll also add capacity of all of our other main trunk routes – from Auckland to Wellington, Dunedin and Queenstown, as well from Wellington to Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown through either extra flights or by upgauging to larger aircraft,” Air New Zealand’s general manager of networks, Scott Carr, said.

“When it comes to our Auckland-Queenstown route, we’ll be offering even more capacity over the school holidays than we did during the same time last year through upgauging 140 return services from our A320 to our larger A321neo aircraft between 29 June and 26 July. This is great news for tourism and those wanting to hit the slopes.”

The airline said it would also add extra services to its regional routes in the week leading up to the school holidays.

Those routes included to and from Blenheim, Dunedin, Gisborne, Hamilton, Invercargill, Kerikeri, Napier, New Plymouth, Nelson, Palmerston North, Rotorua and Tauranga.

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The route was suspended on 30 March due to Covid-19 restrictions, which saw the airline’s international services slashed by 95%.

Arrivals in both countries would be required to undergo quarantine but Japan is understood to be considering waiving the requirement for business travellers from New Zealand if they could prove they were Covid-19 free.

“We’re pleased to be able to welcome customers back onboard as we restart services to Narita this month, however, we know the rebuilding of our international network is going to take considerable time,” Air New Zealand general manager networks Scott Carr said.

Pre-Covid-19, the airline operated up to 10 services per week to Narita.

Air New Zealand currently operated limited international flights, primarily for cargo, to Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Niue.

The schedule for Auckland-Narita:

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