Air NZ stops taking bookings to Australia

Air New Zealand has stopped taking bookings to Australia until August 28 because of Australian Government restrictions put in place to reduce the spread of Covid-19. The Australian Government has in place a cap of 30 passenger arrivals per flight into Sydney and Brisbane. International passenger arrivals into Melbourne are not permitted until August 8. Australia has been grappling with a second wave of Covid-19, especially in the state of Victoria, where authorities are struggling to get the disease under control. Air New Zealand chief commercial and customer officer Cam Wallace said while the government restrictions were in place until August 8, the airline was putting a hold on future bookings to help prevent disruptions to customer journeys should the restrictions be extended. This week Air New Zealand also extended a booking freeze and passenger cap on international arrivals until August 9 at the request of the Government to reduce the pressure on New Zealand’s strained isolation facilities.