Qantas cuts transtasman flights as MIQ spots fill up

Qantas is re-jigging its limited transtasman schedule. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Qantas and Jetstar have cut back flights across the Tasman until the end of January as a result of border restrictions and the limited number of quarantine spaces available in New Zealand.

Qantas will operate two services a week between Sydney and Auckland with Jetstar to operate two to three flights a week from Sydney to Auckland until the end of January. Before the pandemic the airlines were flying up to 150 transtasman flights a week

The airlines slashed flights in March but restored a handful when a one-way bubble into New South Wales was started last month. Qantas could introduce more flights could be restored if the a two-way bubble between Australia and New Zealand is introduced.

In the meantime the airline says that passengers who have a voucher for quarantine and who had their flight cancelled will be moved to another Qantas or Jetstar flight or will be offered a seat on Air New Zealand services. They would soon be contacted by Air New Zealand.

All other Qantas or Jetstar customers with a flight cancellation will receive a credit to the value of their booking which is valid until the end of 2022.

''We're working with New Zealand authorities to ensure that our schedules align with available quarantine spaces,'' a spokesman said.

''We'd also like to remind passengers who are looking to book flights that they must have an allocated quarantine space before they purchase a flight.''

Qantas, which is marking its centenary with an special flight in Sydney on Monday, doesn't expect to resume most of its international flying until well into next year.

While passengers can enter New South Wales without having to quarantine that arrangement is not reciprocal and pressure on MIQ spots in this country is intense, especially in the leadup to Christmas.

There are 32 MIQ facilities across the country, with capacity for 6261 people at a time.

The new booking system introduced on October 5 caught some travellers off guard and they are now stranded overseas.