While Auckland remains at level 4 travel through from Northland through the city is restricted. Photo / Michael Cunningham
While Auckland remains at level 4 travel through from Northland through the city is restricted. Photo / Michael Cunningham
With Northlanders enjoying the relative freedom of alert level 2 but Auckland still firmly locked down in level 4, Northland is effectively an island cut off from the rest of Aotearoa.
While the rules about travelling to or from the supercity are clear — don't do it unless it's essential— the rules around travelling through Auckland to other level 2 regions have been causing some confusion, with answers in the 1pm briefings at times seeming to contradict the government's published advice.
We thought we'd try to clear it up, as much as possible anyway, by trawling through the rules at covid19.govt.nz and putting questions from our readers to the airlines and the government's Covid-19 response team.
A: No, sorry. Visiting friends, like going on holiday, is not a reason for permitted travel across an alert level boundary.
The list of permitted travel reasons is long (see covid19.govt.nz) but it includes medical treatment, going home after MIQ, caring for someone in a critical/terminal condition, and working for an essential business or service.
You are also allowed to drive through Auckland without stopping to go to work, move home/business, attend education, go to a funeral/hui mate, wedding or civil union, or accompany a tūpāpaku or deceased person.
Whatever the reason, be sure to take proof to show police at the border.
Q: We have tickets for a holiday in Christchurch including the TranzAlpine tour next week. Is there any way we can get there? We live in Whangārei.
A: This is tricky but not impossible. Going on holiday is not currently accepted as a reason for travelling across an alert level boundary, or even for driving straight through Auckland without stopping.
Unless rules loosen up in the next few days you will have to fly from Kerikeri to Wellington or Whangārei to Tauranga, then arrange onward travel to Christchurch. Keep reading for more details.
Bay of Islands Airport at Kerikeri. Photo / Supplied
Q: As a Northlander can I fly through Auckland domestic terminal while transiting for recreational purposes?
A: Afraid not. According to the official Covid-19 website: ''You can only travel into, out of, or through Auckland for permitted travel. This includes flights that depart from or land in Auckland Airport. Permitted travel across an alert level boundary does not include going for a holiday.''
Whangārei Airport at Onerahi. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Q: I'm booked to fly to the UK for personal reasons. Can I still fly or drive from Whangārei to Auckland airport for my international flight?
A: Yes, you can. Reasons for permitted travel across an alert level boundary include ''going to an airport or port from which you are leaving New Zealand''.
Make sure you have your flight tickets handy so you can show police at the Northland-Auckland border.
Q: If someone wants to travel to the Bay of Islands by aircraft from a level 2 area can they transfer to a Kerikeri (or Whangārei) flight at Auckland's domestic airport? Or vice versa?
A: No, according to the government's Covid-19 response team. The website states: ''If you are in an alert level 2 area, you can travel to Northland for a holiday as long as you can get there without going into, out of, or through Auckland.''
But there are flights to Northland that bypass Auckland, so keep reading.
Q: I've just bought a boat in Hamilton. Can I drive down through Auckland, collect it and come back?
A: Er, no. Many Northlanders might regard fishing and boating as essential activities but the government doesn't see it that way — buying a boat even less so.
The boat will still be there when Auckland drops to level 2. It's in Hamilton so it's not like someone's going to sail away with it.
Q: When is Air New Zealand introducing Whangārei flights bypassing Auckland, in the same way as the new Kerikeri flights? Or do Whangārei residents have to drive to Kerikeri to fly out of Northland? For example, if I want to fly to Tauranga for a holiday, do I have to drive to Kerikeri, fly to Wellington, then fly from Wellington to Tauranga?
A: Air NZ tells us the airline currently has no plans to add direct Whangārei-Wellington flights.
A spokeswoman said: ''With Whangārei-Auckland already operating it made sense to operate Kerikeri-Wellington to provide a travel option for the Far North. Overall Northland will be well served with air connectivity for the time that Auckland is in a form of lockdown, with services operating Whangārei-Auckland and Kerikeri-Wellington.''
There's good news, however, for the reader keen to fly to Tauranga for a holiday. Sunair, which has a fleet of six-seater Piper Aztecs, flies daily from Whangārei to Tauranga with onward connections to Hamilton and Gisborne. See www.sunair.co.nz or call 0800 786 247 to find out more.
(For readers who missed the news yesterday, from Monday Air NZ will offer daily flights in a 50-seat Q300 from Kerikeri to Wellington. Initially the service will operate until September 21 though that may be extended. Daily flights between Whangārei and Auckland restarted on September 8.)
Tauranga-based Sunair offers flights from Whangārei direct to the Bay of Plenty, bypassing Auckland. Photo / Supplied
Q: Are any airlines apart from Air NZ flying out of Northland?
A: Yes. See the answer above about Sunair flights from Whangārei to Tauranga. For those wishing to fly out of Kaitaia, Barrier Air (www.barrierair.kiwi or 0800 900 600) offers regular flights from New Zealand's northernmost airport, soon expected to go back up to two a day. However, those flights land in Auckland so the rules about permitted travel apply.
Q: Is inter-regional flying for recreational purposes allowed?
A: Yes, as long as the flight connects regions at level 2 or below (in other words it can't land in Auckland).
