Air NZ offering free South Island flight changes ahead of school holidays

Fire, floods and stomach bugs have gripped the South Island ahead of what was expected to be a busy travel period over two weeks of spring school holidays. A state of emergency has been declared in both Queenstown and Southland, while Queenstown’s drinking water is subject to a boil water notice following a cryptosporidium outbreak. Demetria Makarios and her family were due to fly to Queenstown on Sunday for a week. “We’re currently unsure if we should travel – the water issue has made it not so appealing, but now a state of emergency?” Makarios said she had been waiting and watching for guidance from tourism bodies and the council since hearing about the emergency. Air New Zealand chief operational integrity officer David Morgan announced on Friday that the airline would be offering “flexibility” for flights booked to or from Queenstown, Invercargill and Dunedin. “Customers booked from September 21 to September 28 can change their booking to any time before Thursday, October 5, including to another Air New Zealand destination free of charges,” he said. Customers still have to pay the difference if changing to a destination with a more expensive fare, but don’t have to pay a fee. Or, they can take a credit, valid for 12 months, and book another time, the airline said. The airline had previously revealed that Queenstown was to be the most visited destination in the country during school holidays, with an expected 49,000 travellers from Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.<br/>