Government working on voucher system for Kiwis wanting to return home, Air NZ says

Air NZ is working with the Government to develop a voucher system which Kiwis would need to access in order to return to New Zealand, the airline says. The national carrier has just had to extend a booking freeze by 11 days because the Government’s quarantine facilities cannot cope with a surging number of Kiwis wanting to return home in light of a worsening coronavirus pandemic and the prospect of being charged for quarantine costs. Air NZ chief commercial and customer officer Cam Wallace said the Government was looking to set up a voucher system which passengers would need to access in order to return to New Zealand, regardless of which airline they flew with. His understanding was that it would be up to customers to obtain vouchers before booking an airfare home. Failure to do so would result in passengers not being allowed to board a flight to New Zealand. “We would only carry you if you had both your voucher and the ticket,” Wallace said. “That would be the process for managing the amount of people that come into the country on any given day.” The airline expected the system to be in place within a month, he said. At the request of the Government the airline put a three-week hold on new inbound international bookings from early July until July 29, to ensure quarantine were not overwhelmed. Other carriers were ordered to do the same. Now Air New Zealand has extended that freeze to August 9.<br/>