Returnees to New Zealand are being warned that spaces in managed isolation facilities are filling up fast, with only a slim timeframe to book before Christmas.
Auckland's Rydges Hotel as a managed isolation facility. Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers
This comes as a new system requiring people travelling to New Zealand to have a voucher proving they have a place booked in a managed isolation facility before boarding a flight will kick into force from midnight tonight.
The upcoming Christmas holiday period was causing demand to soar to peak levels where managed isolation facilities will be operating at or near capacity.
Managed isolation facilities are fully booked between 1 to 12 November, and between 23 November and 12 December.
The voucher system change comes after a month's grace period.
From 12am on Tuesday 3 November, travellers arriving in New Zealand will be legally required to have a voucher confirming that they have secured their place in a managed isolation facility, before boarding their aircraft.
People who do not have a voucher will not be permitted to board their plane, unless they meet the very restrictive emergency allocation criteria from the Managed Isolation Allocation System.
Head of managed isolation and quarantine, Air Commodore Darryn Webb, said the last thing staff want to see is people turned away at airports.
"To avoid this our message to people is 'no voucher - no fly'. If you don't have a voucher, do not go to the airport because you will not be allowed to board a plane to New Zealand without one," he said.