Air New Zealand launches temporary Wellington Northland service around Auckland restrictions

There is currently one Air New Zealand service a day between Whangārei and Auckland. Photo / File

Air New Zealand has launched temporary services bypassing Auckland while the region remains under travel restrictions.

From next week Northlanders will be able to fly from Kerikeri to Wellington direct, joining the rest of the country in level 2.

Currently all of the carrier's air links from Kerikeri and Whangarei had to transfer via Auckland Airport and were subject to regional travel restrictions, despite Northland's lowered alert level.

"With transit rules through different alert level regions limiting domestic leisure travel, this service will go a long way in supporting Northland and its local economy and community," said Leanne Geraghty, the airline's chief of customer and sales.

Transferring through Auckland is currently only available for essential travel and passengers with exceptional personal circumstances, effectively cutting off Northland from the rest of the country.

Air New Zealand's daily service between Kerikeri and Wellington is 50 seats on a Q300 turboprop and will open up travel for more passengers.

Whangarei airport currently operates only one daily service via Auckland, which remains restricted while the level 4 alert continues.

"At this stage, the flights are available from 13 September through to 21 September. We will of course look to extend this should Auckland stay in alert level 3 or above for longer."

Currently the only direct links from Whangarei are charter planes or fewer than 20 seats a day to Hamilton and Tauranga via regional airlines.

"We look forward to visitors from across the nation coming north to enjoy our hospitality which of course will help our businesses and as a consequence, will benefit all Northlanders," said Northland Mayor, John Carter.

Level 2 restrictions open up domestic leisure travel for Northland, but the number of travellers able to holiday is greatly restricted by the Auckland bottleneck.

While travel through Auckland is allowed for some circumstances, the DPMC said going on holiday was not one of them.

"There are limited permitted reasons for people to transfer at Auckland Airport. The permitted reasons include attending a funeral or tangihanga or going to health appointments," said a Covid-19 response DPMC spokesperson.

"Going on holiday is not a permitted reason for personal travel."

For more information visit covid19.govt.nz