‘I need to get home’: fears Kiwis stranded in Australia

AUCKLAND: New Zealanders in Australia fear they will not be able to return home, as no direct Air New Zealand flights between the countries appear to be available until the end of the month.

Air New Zealand’s website shows no available flights from Australian cities such as Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra or Sydney to Auckland until late July.

The earliest flight that appears to be available to buy tickets for online flies from Canberra to Auckland on July 27.

The situation has left New Zealanders in Australia confused.

One affected New Zealander said he was trying to book tickets to Auckland from Brisbane to no avail.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, was due to start a new job in Auckland at the end of the month and wanted to fly home as soon as possible.

‘‘I looked online for flights from other cities, but there’s nothing anywhere,’’ he said.

On Saturday, at least three services were scheduled between the two cities, but now there appeared to be none, he said.

‘‘I just don’t know what to do. I need to get home.’’

He called the Air New Zealand helpline but hung up after being kept on hold for more than an hour, he said.

Some flights — albeit pricey ones — were listed on the Skyscanner website between the two countries, however none of those were direct flights.

Services from Sydney to Auckland this weekend involved Air

New Zealand and another airline, such as Jetstar or Qantas, with a stop in Melbourne.

However it was unclear whether these would fly, as the airline was under a strict directive that no international passengers were eligible to arrive into Melbourne from July 1 to July 14, as Covid19 spreads within the local community.

Last week, Air New Zealand cancelled two return services to Melbourne — NZ123, a cargoonly flight, and NZ124 operating with inbound passengers to Auckland.

NZ127 and NZ128 were also cancelled yesterday.

The man had spoken to others online in a similar situation who said they had booked tickets on other websites, such as Skyscanner, only to have their bookings cancelled at the last minute.

Others had their Air New Zealand bookings changed and were unsure if they were able to fly home at all, he said.

Air New Zealand was contacted for comment last night but had not responded by deadline. — The New Zealand Herald