Air NZ passenger numbers dropped by more than 50 per cent in 2020

Air NZ’s passenger numbers dropped by more than 50% in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, despite better than expected demand for domestic flights after the nationwide lockdown ended. The national carrier flew 8.4m passengers last year, down from 17.6m in 2019. With borders closed for much of 2020, the number of international flights fell from 30,000 to 9586. The number of domestic flight numbers was down by 50,000 to 105,000. Even without international tourists during what were its busiest months before the pandemic, the airline operated at close to 85% of its pre-Covid schedule between December 21, 2020 and January 10, 2021, a spokesperson said. “Kiwis have clearly been making the most of summer by exploring Aotearoa.” During New Zealand’s Alert Level 4 lockdown, 67 of the airline’s aircraft were grounded, and by the end of 2020 its 15 Boeing 777s had been sent to long-term storage facilities in Auckland, New Mexico and California. Customer service staff were busier than they had ever been, however, with the contact centre fielding more than 75,000 calls, emails and messages from customers on March 15 – the day after the Government announced that everyone entering New Zealand from destinations other than the Pacific Islands would need to self-isolate for 14 days upon their return. This compared to 9900 calls received on the contact centre’s busiest day in 2019. Most international passenger flights last year carried New Zealand residents who had either been stranded overseas or were returning to live here permanently.<br/>