Covid 19 coronavirus: Kaitaia flights to resume

The view from a Barrier Air flight between Auckland and Kaitaia. Photo / Kohu Inch

Flights between Kaitaia and Auckland are to resume on May 20 after a two-month hiatus caused by the Covid-19 crisis.

Barrier Air chief executive Nick Pearson said the first flight would leave Auckland at 11am and return from Kaitaia at 12.40pm.

Initially the airline would operate three return flights a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Barrier Air's Cessna Caravan lands at Kaitaia Airport after a flight from Auckland. Photo / Peter de Graaf

More flights would be added as demand picked up again, including early morning and evening flights geared at business travellers. Pearson hoped the service would be back to pre-Covid levels by the end of the year.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic the service, which has operated since Air New Zealand controversially pulled out of Kaitaia in 2015, was ''really picking up a head of steam'' with two or three return flights a day.

Once daily flights resumed Barrier Air would bring back its staff member at Kaitaia airport so passengers could book flights in person.

Throughout Covid-19 alert level 2 passengers would be spaced evenly throughout the cabin to meet social distancing requirements and the aircraft would be sanitised between flights.

Barrier Air also flies to Great Barrier Island and North Shore Airport.

During the level 3 and 4 lockdown the airline's only flights were to transport essential food and medical supplies to Great Barrier Island.