The change, which took effect yesterday, ended several restrictions including indoor capacity limits and the seating and separation of hospitality guests.
Masks will still be required for retail, public transport, flights and public venues such as libraries.
More importantly for unvaccinated travellers, from today, those flying domestically no longer need to show proof of a negative Covid test if they travel with Air New Zealand.
From May 1, the airline will then remove its 'no jab, no fly' vaccination policy for international passengers.
From April 15, travellers can leave their home-made snacks behind as food and beverage services resume.
Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran said the changes made sense given the country's high vaccination rates and dropping transmission.
"As Omicron took hold in the community, we put in place several temporary measures aimed at keeping our employees, customers and New Zealand safe. After a careful risk assessment, we feel now is the right time to step back some of those measures," he said.
"New Zealand is moving back towards a sense of normality. We're seeing customers return to our domestic network and we're welcoming back Australians [from Wednesday]. We're aware that Covid is not behind us yet and we have taken a considered approach and will continue to revise safety measures depending on what we're seeing here in New Zealand and around the world."
Foran sent a 'heartfelt thanks' to customers who had supported Air New Zealand through the various changes and restrictions.
Some rules will stay in place and masks will still be required for customers and staff during Orange.
The company's domestic flexibility policy, which allows customers to credit or change their flight without fees, will end on April 30.
Jetstar has also dropped its vaccine and negative test requirement and resumed inflight food and drinks on April 5. Similar to Air New Zealand, masks are still mandatory on board.
Some North America flights resume
Air New Zealand said it had resumed its non-stop service to San Francisco from today, and looked forward to resuming services to Honolulu on July 4 and to Houston on July 7.
The move follows the airline recently announcing a new service between Auckland and New York, JFK from September 17 this year.
It has been carrying passengers daily between Auckland and Los Angeles since March.
Air New Zealand has also been flying three times a week to Vancouver since February.
The services to San Francisco will initially operate three times a week using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
