This in an email from Air Chathams today
After thorough consideration, Air Chathams has decided to withdraw all Auckland to Norfolk Island flights until the 1st September 2022. This decision has not come easily as we know many of our customers have friends and family in Norfolk Island that they haven't connected with in many months. We also know you may find this news frustrating as we are seeing the borders between Australia and New Zealand finally starting to open up. We have been advised by Norfolk Island Tourism that the majority of accommodation providers are at capacity, with only limited rooms available until mid-Winter. This will prevent tour groups from booking flights as there is nowhere for them to stay when they get to Norfolk Island. The other key challenge for Air Chathams return to Norfolk is the uncertainty around when Australian citizens and passport holders will be able to travel to New Zealand. We are aware that June/July/August are the shoulder months for tourism to Norfolk Island and would likely prevent our airline from running viable services, made harder if Australians were still unable to travel through some of that period. Together these factors have resulted in our decision to delay our Auckland to Norfolk Island flight schedule until a later stage in our pandemic recovery. We regret not being able to operate as intended and understand the disappointment this will cause. Our customer services team will be in touch with all those directly effected in the coming days to work through alternatives available to you. Flights will resume flights to Norfolk Island on 1st September 2022. Flights will continue weekly on a Thursday until December 2022 when we introduce a second weekly flight on Mondays.
