Kiwi brothers, 9 and 12, left upset after Air NZ flight home from China cancelled

Air New Zealand's decision to suspend its Shanghai to Auckland route in response to the coronavirus outbreak had the parents of two boys worried they would not be able to get home. Photo / Dean Purcell

A Kiwi father spent 24 hours trying to get his two sons back into New Zealand after Air New Zealand cancelled their flight back from China on Sunday.

Nathaniel Turner told Stuff it took him a stressful 24 hours to secure another flight after the Air New Zealand flight his two boys were due to take was cancelled and the national carrier refused to help him find another airline.

But after 24 hours of searching, Turner eventually managed to book his children a flight on Chinese Eastern between Shanghai and Auckland.

Turner's sons David, 9 and Leon, 12, had been staying with their grandparents in China since December for the holidays.

However on Saturday Air New Zealand announced it was suspending its service as of next Sunday - the day the boys were due to fly home.

The suspension was due to the virus impacting crew logistics and a decline in customer bookings for that route. The service has been suspended from February 9 through to March 29.

When the New Plymouth father contacted Air New Zealand about his predicament they said they could not arrange another flight for him because the boys were travelling unaccompanied and they could not be certain other airlines would supervise them, Stuff reported.

Turner told Stuff he was not concerned about them contracting coronavirus as the boys had been staying inside. He had been more worried about getting them home and had even considered ignoring the warnings and flying over himself to bring them back.

"They were quite upset. They were in reasonable spirits but now they want to come home," he told Stuff.

Air New Zealand responded that it had been urgently working to find the Turners an alternative flight.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was also unable to help him and referred him back to Air New Zealand.

So far 362 people have died from the coronavirus and more than 17,300 people have been infected in both China and overseas.

As of today, the Government will block travellers who have been through mainland China in a bid to stop the deadly coronavirus reaching New Zealand.

There are temporary entry restrictions into New Zealand on all foreign nationals travelling from, or transiting through, mainland China to assist with the containment of the novel coronavirus and to protect New Zealand and the Pacific Islands from the disease.

The ban excludes New Zealand citizens, permanent residents and immediate family.