{"id":3880,"date":"2023-03-14T09:12:40","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T09:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=3880"},"modified":"2023-03-14T09:12:40","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T09:12:40","slug":"air-new-zealand-extends-gisborne-napier-flights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=3880","title":{"rendered":"Air New Zealand Extends Gisborne – Napier Flights"},"content":{"rendered":"

As\u00a0Air New Zealand\u00a0continues to connect communities, it has announced its intent to continue its temporary Napier Hawkes Bay Airport (NPE) to\u00a0Gisborne Airport\u00a0(GIS) service.<\/p>\n

The national carrier set up the connection in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, which caused havoc across the eastern provinces in the North Island of New Zealand.<\/p>\n

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\"Gisborne<\/picture><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Photo: Gisborne District Council<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The service was quickly initiated after the cyclone fractured state highways around Tair\u0101whiti and Hawkes Bay.\u00a0The first flight took off on February 26th<\/a>, with initial plans to operate until March 25th.<\/p>\n

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Discover more\u00a0aviation news for Australia and Oceania<\/a>\u00a0here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Restarting on April 10<\/h2>\n

Air New Zealand announced today that it would continue the service for an additional eight weeks but will take a pause between March 25th and April 10th. The reasoning behind the break, as reported by Stuff.co.nz,\u00a0\u201cwill allow the airline to secure the crew and aircraft required to continue operating the route for the eight weeks.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\"NPE-GIS\"<\/picture><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Source: GCMap<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The connection has proved a lifeline to connect communities throughout the East Coast, paired with transporting essential workers around the regions. Jason Dawson, Air New Zealand Regional Affairs Manager, reiterated the need for the service:<\/p>\n

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\u201cWith the road link still cut off, we\u2019ve extended the service for as long as we can to ensure connectivity between the regions while the roading infrastructure is being repaired.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Gisborne Airport runway intersection<\/h2>\n

The northeastern airport of Gisborne is unique in its own right, being the only airport in the\u00a0Southern Hemisphere with a railway track<\/a>\u00a0that intersects the runway. This is part of North Island’s Palmerston North\u2013Gisborne Line (PNGL), which has not seen scheduled passenger services since 2001\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b.<\/p>\n

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