The great Christmas travel rush has started as Kiwis up and down the country begin preparations for the festive period.
Air New Zealand is expecting its busiest day of the year, with 31,000 customers booked in to fly on Thursday.
The national carrier is warning passengers that check-in will look a bit different with all customers aged 12 or older needing to show proof of either full vaccination or of a negative Covid-19 test result taken within 72 hours of travel.
Flyers are recommended to arrive at airports with plenty of time, but so far everything appears to be going well, said Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty.
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“The process is running pretty smoothly already, and we have had more than 200,000 customers upload their My Vaccine Pass to their Airpoints profile.”
The airline is expecting 100,000 passengers to fly around the country over Christmas with the most popular route being Auckland to Christchurch. Visitors to Nelson should expect a busy airport as it is the most popular regional destination.
“It’s such a special time of year to spend with your loved ones, so we’re thrilled to be helping people connect all around the country, from Invercargill to Hokitika to Kerikeri,” said Geraghty.
Some lucky passengers will be the first to fly in the airline’s brand new ATR 72-600.
ZK-MZF recently completed an epic 22,000km journey from France to New Zealand stopping in seven countries along the way.
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