Air NZ has bowed to pressure from Northlanders and has introduced flights from Whangārei to Wellington to bypass Auckland while the city is in level 3 lockdown.
The airline introduced a temporary service from Kerikeri earlier this month so people could bypass Auckland as the lockdown limited access to Auckland Airport.
The flights were popular, but led to many Northlanders asking for similar flights from Whangārei.
In a statement on Tuesday afternoon the company said following the success of the Wellington to Kerikeri service, to keep Northland connected with the rest of the country, it will add an additional temporary service between Whangārei and Wellington from September 29 and October 5.
Whangārei Mayor Sheryl Mai welcomed the new flights.