New Zealand / Covid 19

First domestic flight for NZers quarantined in Auckland

21:57 pm on 31 March 2020

The first domestic flight has taken place for New Zealanders who returned from overseas after entry restrictions were imposed.

The flight left from Auckland with almost 60 passengers on board. Photo: 123RF

Nearly 60 passengers flew from Auckland, where they had been staying in government quarantine in hotels, to either Wellington or Christchurch.

All passengers on the flight went through health checks before they took off, and are required to self-isolate once they land.

To qualify for the special government-chartered flight, passengers had to be able to get to a self-isolation location within five hours of landing.

  • If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP - don't show up at a medical centre

A total of 34 passengers went to Wellington and 23 went to Christchurch.

The National Crisis Management Centre said in the next few days, two to three flights a day would fly similar routes.

See all RNZ coverage of Covid-19