Today saw the first visitors coming from visa waiver countries, stepping foot through the Auckland Airport gates from around 5.45am this morning.
The first flights from Los Angeles, Perth, and San Francisco touched down between 5.45am-6.45am, with a special welcome display for those coming through the gates.
Whaea Dolly Paul welcomed visitors with a karanga at the international terminal public arrivals area following the arrival of flights.
Air New Zealand is delighted to fly the first wave of visa-waiving visitors into Auckland as New Zealand takes an important step in reconnecting with the world.
Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty says Flight NZ5, arriving from Los Angeles into Auckland at 5.45am on Monday, May 2, was packed with customers and excitement.
"We've got three flights arriving into Auckland on May 2, which are filled to the brim with overseas visitors and returning Kiwis thrilled to land on New Zealand shores once again as they reconnect with family, start their studies or build their businesses. It's great to have international tourists being able to visit our beautiful country again and explore everything Aotearoa New Zealand has to offer."
The three Air New Zealand flights arriving on 2 May are: NZ5 from Los Angeles – Auckland, arriving at 5:45am, NZ7 from San Francisco – Auckland, arriving at 6:10am, and NZ953 from Nadi – Auckland, arriving at 5pm.
"Demand has exceeded expectations with many of our services filling up. We're pleased with how bookings are going across the network, both domestic and international. This is welcome news for the New Zealand tourism industry who has weathered a difficult storm over the past 800 days.
"To help New Zealand's tourism industry recover, we're ramping up our network as quickly as we can – with Honolulu and Houston routes resuming on July 4 and July 7, respectively.
"We're also seeing great demand out of New Zealand as Kiwis book their long-awaited winter getaway, with popular destinations like Fiji and Honolulu being snapped up."
