EVA drops Auckland flights

Taiwanese carrier EVA Air is ending its twice-weekly service from Auckland.

EVA Air will stop its direct flights to Taipei in September as part of global cuts, mainly because of high fuel prices.

The airline has been flying to Auckland for the past 14 years and has said it was hopeful the service could be reinstated if fuel prices dropped and the global slowdown eased.

Auckland International Airport's former chief executive Don Huse said at the company's annual result briefing that losing EVA was part of the ebb and flow of running the airport.

Other carriers were increasing their capacity, including Cathay Pacific which would use a Boeing 747 to replace a smaller Airbus from October and Pacific Blue's growing number of flights across the Tasman.