Resumption of flights vital for region’s recovery
Air New Zealand has confirmed that flights between Timaru and Wellington will resume on June 8.
The airline has started operating to the majority of its domestic ports with the country’s move to alert level 2. However, it had previously indicated that flights in and out of Timaru would be cancelled for the foreseeable future.
Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon, who had written to Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran requesting some assurances as to when flights would return, was pleased with the announcement.
‘‘It’ll come as welcome news for Timaru-based travellers and the wider region,’’ Falloon said.
‘‘As I’ve made clear to Air New Zealand in recent weeks, flights in and out of Timaru are a crucial part of the longer term economic recovery of the central South Island.
‘‘An extended period of no flights would have put the pace of that recovery at risk, particularly as we pivot toward a greater focus on domestic tourism.’’
Rangitata-based Labour List MP Jo Luxton also welcomed the announcement.
‘‘Though there is disappointment that Timaru flights weren’t part of Air New Zealand’s initial schedule for alert level 2, I was confident that the airline would see how keen South Cantabrians are to get around the country and reinstate services as soon as possible,’’ Luxton said.
Air NZ general manager networks Scott Carr said the airline has been encouraged by the customer response to its recently released schedule.
‘‘We’re pleased to be able to restart both our Taupo-Auckland and Timaru-Wellington routes early next month, and we know this news will be welcomed by these towns and their wider regions,’’ Carr said.
‘‘Bringing Taupo and Timaru back into our domestic schedule means we’ll soon operate to all 20 of the domestic destinations we serviced pre Covid-19, albeit with reduced frequencies.’’
Initially the airline will operate three return services a week between Timaru and Wellington on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Additional frequencies will be reintroduced back into Air New Zealand’s domestic schedule as demand permits.
‘‘. . . flights in and out of Timaru are a crucial part of the longer term economic recovery of the central South Island.’’
Andrew Falloon, Rangitata MP