Air New Zealand has suspended all flights from Queenstown to Australia as it reduces its services across the Tasman in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Flights from Queenstown to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane have been suspended from March 30 to June 30.
Air New Zealand said in a press release today it was significantly reducing capacity on flights to Australia from Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown due to a decrease in travel demand.
"These dates may change if demand reduces further. Overall, Tasman capacity will reduce by 80% over this period.
"Due to the large number of schedule changes, customers are strongly encouraged to only contact the airline if they are due to fly within the next 48 hours or need immediate repatriation to New Zealand or their home country."
Departure lounge opening delayed in Dunedin
Meanwhile, Dunedin Airport says it will delay the opening of its new departure lounge.
The new lounge was scheduled to open on Thursday, March 19.
The Dunedin Airport board said it took decision because of the Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent shutdown of a lot of domestic and international travel.
‘‘We are extremely mindful of the current situation and the impacts on our airline, tourism and retail partners,’’ the board said in a statement.
‘‘Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this.’’
‘‘The health and safety of our teams, our community and our country is the priority for us all at the moment.’’
- additional reporting by Jacob McSweeny
