Air New Zealand ditches Auckland-Norfolk Island service

Air New Zealand will pull out of direct services from Auckland to Norfolk Island. Photo / Thomas Huxley

Air New Zealand is ditching its once-a-week flight to Norfolk Island.

The airline says falling customer demand from New Zealand means it will no longer fly between Auckland and the island from May. Instead it will offer services from Sydney and Brisbane, where demand is stronger.

"The Auckland-Norfolk Island route is not commercially sustainable so it makes sense to focus our operations out of Australia, where there's good potential," said networks general manager Richard Thomson.

Passengers with confirmed bookings on the Auckland-Norfolk Island service beyond May would be offered the option of travelling via Sydney or Brisbane, applying their fare towards travel to another Air New Zealand destination, or a full refund.

From May the airline will continue to service the island with a core schedule of two flights per week from Sydney and one per week from Brisbane.

This will increase to five services a week during peak travel periods which will now extend from September to April.

The airline said customers who've booked with it directly would be contacted to discuss their options. Those who have booked through a travel agent should contact their travel consultant, it said.