Air New Zealand may not resume serving the routes from Brisbane and Sydney to Norfolk Island, despite the Australian government initially granting Air New Zealand the contract to service these routes until August 2023.
Air New Zealand had been the sole operator on the Brisbane-Norfolk Island and Sydney-Norfolk Island routes from 2018 until 2021. Both routes are served under an agreement with the Australian government, which is awarded following a tender process.
In March 2021, Qantas temporarily stepped in to serve both Norfolk Island routes after Air New Zealand had to cancel services due to COVID-19 border restrictions. At the time, Air New Zealand was temporarily unable to crew the flights due to sudden international border closures.
After Air New Zealand was temporarily unable to meet its obligations in March 2021, the federal government initially awarded Qantas the contract to service Norfolk Island for the following three months, taking over temporarily from Air New Zealand until June 2021. This contract was later extended until the end of August 2021, then again until 30 June 2022.
The border between Australia and New Zealand is now open again and Air New Zealand could now resume flights to the island from mainland Australia. But Qantas is continuing to sell flights from Brisbane and Sydney to Norfolk Island well beyond the end of this month. Air New Zealand is not currently selling any flights to Norfolk Island, indicating it is not intending to return to the route.
A new tender process
Last year, the Australian government had extended Air New Zealand’s contract to service Norfolk Island from mainland Australia until August 2023. But the government commenced an open tender process in April 2022 to find a new long-term airline partner “to deliver regular and reliable air passenger services to Norfolk Island”.
“Qantas is currently delivering air passenger services for Norfolk Island under short-term arrangements,” a spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications said.
“The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is currently undertaking an open tender process for a long-term aviation partner to deliver air passenger services to Norfolk Island.
“Requests for tenders recently closed and the Department is currently considering responses.
“The Department will keep the community informed throughout the procurement process and remains committed to supporting delivery of these vital aviation services to Norfolk Island.”
The Department says it wants to ensure its new airline partner will “provide an approach tailored to the circumstances of the local community and business sectors”. It also said it had been gathering valuable data from Qantas passengers over recent months to help inform the procurement process.
Qantas has now been operating regular flights to Norfolk Island for over a year in Air New Zealand’s absence. By most accounts, it has been doing a good job.
Air New Zealand did not respond to a request for comment.
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