Air New Zealand says it is ready to welcome Aucklanders back to the skies and reconnect them with the rest of Aotearoa today (Dec 15), after more than 120 days of the city’s border being in place.
Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer, Leanne Geraghty, said the airline is gearing up for a busy day today (Wednesday), with more than 12,000 customers booked to travel in and out of Auckland across 170 flights.
She said Auckland Airport will be a hive of activity after nearly four months of no domestic travel for those in the city.
“Aucklanders have been putting in the mahi to help keep the rest of the country safe, so we’re thrilled to be helping reunite them with friends and whānau from tomorrow onwards,” Geraghty said.
She said the most popular destination from Auckland today is the capital with 1,800 passengers booked, closely followed by Christchurch with 1,700 customers travelling to the garden city.
Queenstown is also a popular spot as it sets to welcome more than 1,200 travellers from Auckland tomorrow, according to Geraghty.
“Today also marks the start of a very busy summer period, with more than 720,000 customers booked to fly around New Zealand between 15 December and 31 January,” she said.
“To add to the atmosphere on the day, we’ll have a few surprises at Auckland airport and on some of our flights across the country too.”
Geraghty said for those travelling this summer, the check-in process does look a little different than usual.
From today, all customers aged 12 or older will need to show proof of either full vaccination or proof of a negative Covid-19 test result taken within 72 hours of travel.
“Our digital solution for allowing customers to show proof of vaccination went live last Thursday and already we’ve had nearly 130,000 customers upload their My Vaccine Pass to their Airpoints profile,” she said.
“This means their check in process looks the same as it always has because their vaccination status is already verified.
“We’ll have all hands-on deck for the next few days, ensuring customers know exactly what they need to do to make this a seamless journey.
“My advice now would be to upload your My Vaccine Pass to your Airpoints profile so you’re set to travel.
“We are also encouraging customers to arrive at the airport 60 minutes before their flight takes off to make sure they have plenty of time before boarding.
“I know our crew are really looking forward to having the domestic network back firing on all cylinders, with new snacks back on board too! But don’t panic, the famous Cookie Time cookie remains,” Geraghty said.