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Air New Zealand has canceled 59 domestic flights on Monday as Auckland’s Alert Level 3 restrictions are imposed.
Auckland entered a level 3 lockdown starting at 6am Sunday, while the rest of the country went to alert level 2 after the discovery of a community case. The restrictions will be in effect for seven days.
ALDEN WILLIAMS / Stuff
Air NZ has canceled dozens of flights as Auckland enters alert level 3.
A spokeswoman for the national airline says that “since essential and transit travel is only allowed in and out of Auckland under Alert Level 3, Air New Zealand is seeing a number of customers choosing to rebook flights or cancel and opt for credit”.
As a result, tomorrow (Monday, March 1), 18 main trunk flights and 41 regional turboprop flights were canceled.
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The canceled sectors include flights from Auckland to Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch, Queenstown, Gisborne, Napier, Nelson, Palmerston North, Taupo, New Plymouth, Rotorua, Tauranga, Blenheim and the Bay of Islands.
Despite the cancellations, the national airline continues to operate a series of services to Auckland so that essential workers can travel and people can return home.
There were long delays at Auckland Airport’s domestic terminal on Sunday as travelers attempted to leave the city. Sunday’s schedules remained largely normal as airlines allowed passengers to return home.
Air New Zealand said it would waive any fare differences for customers with existing reservations between Sunday February 28 and Sunday March 7 who wish to rebook their flight before Sunday March 14.
Passengers who had booked a trip within the next 48 hours were encouraged to change or cancel their reservation online or to contact the call center to modify their reservation.
“This frees up seats for those who need to travel on short notice,” the spokeswoman said.
Customers traveling from Tier 2 regions can transit Auckland on their way to other Tier 2 regions.
Physical distancing is not required on airplanes, but face covering is mandatory.
Auckland lounges will be closed during Level 3, while there is a limit of 100 patrons at a time in lounges in Level 2 areas.
Air New Zealand said its usual onboard food and beverage services will not be available on any domestic flights during this time.
Jetstar has so far canceled four flights on Monday, a return service from Auckland to Wellington and another from Auckland to Christchurch.
Jetstar says that “customers with reservations on our New Zealand national network between 6 am Sunday February 28 through 6 am Sunday 7 March 2021 who no longer wish to fly, can choose to cancel your trip and receive a coupon for the value of your reservation “.
