Air NZ offering free South Island flight changes ahead of school holidays

Fire, floods and stomach bugs have gripped the South Island ahead of what was expected to be a busy travel period over two weeks of spring school holidays.

A state of emergency has been declared in both Queenstown and Southland, while Queenstown’s drinking water is subject to a boil water notice following a cryptosporidium outbreak.

Demetria Makarios and her family were due to fly to Queenstown on Sunday for a week.

“We’re currently unsure if we should travel – the water issue has made it not so appealing, but now a state of emergency?”

Makarios said she had been waiting and watching for guidance from tourism bodies and the council since hearing about the emergency.

Air New Zealand chief operational integrity officer David Morgan announced on Friday that the airline would be offering “flexibility” for flights booked to or from Queenstown, Invercargill and Dunedin.

“Customers booked from September 21 to September 28 can change their booking to any time before Thursday, October 5, including to another Air New Zealand destination free of charges,” he said.

Customers still have to pay the difference if changing to a destination with a more expensive fare, but don’t have to pay a fee. Or, they can take a credit, valid for 12 months, and book another time, the airline said.

The airline had previously revealed that Queenstown was to be the most visited destination in the country during school holidays, with an expected 49,000 travellers from Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.

A spokesperson for Destination Queenstown said many businesses were taking a cautious approach, but were open for “business as usual”.

“There is currently a state of emergency in place in CBD Queenstown, however the town centre is open and accessible.”

The spokesperson said travellers would need to boil their water during their stay.

“Although we know this is an inconvenience, the health of yourself and your whānau is a priority. We also encourage all residents and visitors to practise good hand hygiene.”

They advised travellers to be vigilant in checking the latest updates from airlines, council and road authorities.

Meanwhile, NZ Ski has been forced to close Coronet Peak for the remainder of the season due to the impact of heavy rain.

A spokesperson said it hadn’t previously been scheduled to close until October 1.

The Remarkables ski field has also been temporarily closed, despite a fresh dump of snow, to discourage people from travelling on the roads, they said.

Ngāi Tahu Tourism’s Jolanda Cave said that one of its businesses, Dart River Adventures, in Glenorchy had been temporarily cut off.

“We are expecting to regain access to the Glenorchy road later today or tomorrow.”

“The recent weather has also created high river levels at Shotover and Dart River, and we are monitoring them closely. They are already starting to drop, and we hope to resume operations in the next couple of days.”

Cave said she was aware there would be lots of whānau travelling to Tāhuna (Queenstown) for the holidays, and she hoped that the weather wouldn’t deter them.

Queenstown Airport was open on Friday, while Air New Zealand advised that only two flights had been cancelled.

InterCity bus services are also largely on schedule, a staff member said, with only one service, between Queenstown and Milford Sound, having been cancelled.

A heavy rain warning from MetService for Canterbury Lakes is in place until 9pm with a further 70mm to 100mm expected to fall.

If your travel plans are now in the air, chec out Stuff’s handy guide for what to do when things go wrong.