Air NZ resumes operation here after 22 years of suspension

Air NZ resumed its flights between Korea and New Zealand after a 22-year break on Saturday. The airline first launched operations in the mid-1990s between Auckland and Seoul, but halted services in 1997 following the Asian financial crisis. "We have flown here before, but unfortunately due to the Asian financial crisis, the number of passengers fell from 100,000 to 20,000, so we had to step back at that point. But now we are seeing the number of passengers grow and grow," Jeff McDowall, acting CE of Air NZ, said Monday. Around 90,000 Koreans visit New Zealand annually and that number is expected to grow even further in the next decade. So far many Korean tourists have had stopovers in Japan or Australia, due to a small number of direct flights. On Saturday, Air New Zealand flight NZ75 departed Auckland International Airport for Korea's Incheon International Airport for the first time in more than two decades. The airline offers three flights a week, departing Incheon on Monday, Thursday and Saturday with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. It is scheduled to increase the frequency temporarily to five times a week in December for the winter peak season.<br/>