There were many damp eyes and delighted smiles at Auckland Airport this morning, when the first flight from Australia touched down around 6am this morning.
The removal of all quarantine requirements and reopening of borders to visitors from New Zealand’s major tourism destinations has given airlines the confidence to reopen routes, says Auckland Airport general manager aeronautical commercial Scott Tasker.
Air New Zealand will move thousands of people on their 11 near-full flights arriving from Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane and Perth; with the first touching down at 6am on Wednesday morning from Perth into Auckland.
“This is an exciting day for tourism businesses around the motu as they step back onto the front foot, setting their sights on a successful ski season, then summer 2022-23,” says TIA chief executive Rebecca Ingram.
