FLIGHTS ON HOLD
WELLINGTON: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has denied the Government put restrictions on flights into New Zealand because it was overwhelmed by new passenger arrivals.
Rather, the restrictions would help spread out the arrival numbers and act as a preventive measure to ensure everyone could be housed in an isolation facility safely, she said.
‘‘What we are seeing is an increasing number of returning New Zealanders putting pressure on the system,’’ Ms Ardern said.
That had led to forecasts of up to 700 New Zealanders arriving in the country every day.
To ensure those numbers did not become a problem, the Government confirmed yesterday morning it would start restricting how many people could book seats on flights into the country.
‘‘It’s just about managing that flow,’’ Ms Ardern said.
Authorities usually learned how many New Zealanders were arriving and how many isolation and quarantine places were needed only once a flight landed, putting pressure on the system, she said.
The Government had been increasing the number of isolation and quarantine facilities but the new measures would enable them to do it in a safe manner that met all protocols, she said.
She also rejected suggestions the
restrictions were over the top.
‘‘I wouldn’t call it a drastic step,’’ she said.
Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran is not ruling out seeking compensation for agreeing not to accept any new bookings for the next three weeks.
Mr Foran told Newstalk ZB the airline was not cancelling any flights, but had agreed to not sell any more seats for the next three weeks.
The airline has 5400 passengers already booked on flights during that time and is running an average of 35 flights a week.
Mr Foran said there were no plans to bump anyone from flights this week, but the airline might ‘‘potentially’’ have to look at rebooking people’s travel from next week.
He said Air NZ would deal with the revenue loss at a future stage, but receiving compensation from the Government was still a possibility.
‘‘I’m very confident we will end up on the right side of the ledger for all concerned.’’
Emirates and Singapore Airlines are also being asked to stop taking bookings over the same period. — The New Zealand Herald