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Summary
- Government has put down an additional NZ$170 million for the aviation sector.
- The extended support is to maintain international passenger service and keep NZ connected with trade partners.
- The aviation market is expected to rebuild later this year and its present IAFC scheme was changing to show the recovery phase.
- New proposals are being sought from the airlines and carriers for the MIAC scheme.
The New Zealand government has set aside an additional $170 million for the aviation sector to ensure connectivity of the country with trade partners and continue international passenger facilities. The government support has been stretched out for the aviation industry until October 31, 2021, as per Transport Minister Michael Wood.
NZ government had put down $600 million for an aviation relief package as part of the $12.1 billion COVID-19 support package in March 2020. It had allocated $372 million to provide for airfreight connectivity for the original International Airfreight Capacity (IAFC) scheme.
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More than 60K people were able to get back to NZ on flights, which were supported by the scheme, as per Wood.
Further, the government support has led to over 6K flights, transporting more than 120,000 tonnes of airfreight worth $8 billion since May 2020.
The scheme has also served as a key support for its Pacific partners.
Restructuring of the scheme
Wood stated that the IAFC scheme was altering to represent the coronavirus pandemic's recovery period and aviation market was likely to begin rebuilding in later 2021.
The support scheme will now be called ‘Maintaining International Air Connectivity’ (MIAC) scheme, which enables support levels to decrease as passenger numbers increase, resulting in good value for money.
International air travel had virtually stopped as the COVID-19 outbreak began, posing a serious danger of isolation from international partners. Wood stated that extending support ensured New Zealand's international connectivity by providing a consistent and reliable schedule of air services.
He also added that executives were carefully collaborating with airlines and carriers, as well as keeping a close eye on the global aviation market. If appropriate, the government will probably extend support until the end of March 2022.
(NOTE: Currency is reported in NZ Dollar unless stated otherwise)
