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This story was originally published in RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
Ferries are running, Air NZ will distance passengers, InterCity bus company canceled all trips until May 2, 29, and all long-distance tourist railways will be closed.
Air New Zealand said it would guarantee an empty seat among passengers traveling alone, and would keep fellow travelers together when the country moves to alert Level 2 overnight.
The airline planned to operate around 20 percent of its usual domestic capacity, with flights to most of its domestic airports.
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The InterIslander Kaitaki can carry 1,350 passengers.
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Customer experience manager Nikki Goodman said food and beverages would not be served on flights during the first week of Level 2, to minimize contact between customers and cabin crew.
She said customers would be encouraged to sign up for the Air New Zealand app and that there would be floor markers to queue at airport counters.
The airline’s lounges would reopen in the second week of alert level two, but with no buffet, just packaged snacks.
KiwiRail-owned InterIslander ferries will return to full pre-Covid sailing schedules beginning Friday to keep up with demand at Block 2 level.
All three InterIslander ferries will work, but can only carry about a third of the usual number of passengers due to spacing rules.
KiwiRail group chief executive Greg Millar said some tickets were still available this weekend and that the company would decide next week if there was a demand to continue running the full schedule.
“I would anticipate a little interest because there are students who return to where they are studying, there are families reuniting, you have [New Zealanders returning] where they are.
“So there are many reasons for people to travel and I would expect demand to be quite high.”
Millar said that the only interregional train service that will operate would be the Capital Connection between Palmerston North and Wellington.
He said there was no timetable yet for when the other scenic routes would reopen as long as the distancing rules remained and the borders were closed to international tourists.
Closed services include the TranzAlpine between Christchurch and Greymouth, the Northern Explorer between Auckland and Wellington, and the coastal Pacific between Picton and Christchurch.
Bus company InterCity said it was canceling all trips across the country until the end of the month at least.
InterCity, which was privatized in 1991, said in a statement that the Level 2 alert distance rules would require it to operate at less than 50 percent of its capacity, and that it could not afford to operate under those restrictions.
He canceled reservations for about 3,500 people, saying they could re-book at a later time at no additional cost.
He said he planned to have reservations open as of May 29, hoping that by then the country would be on level 1 alert and would no longer need to physically distance itself.
Intercity said it was in talks with the government and the transport ministry about any way to start managing services earlier.
This story was originally published in RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
