Air New Zealand has scrapped passenger services from Auckland to Melbourne, begining today, as Victoria battles a spike in Covid-19 infections.
Flights between the two cities from July 1 to July 14 have been cancelled.
It comes after the national carrier last night received a directive that no international passengers are eligible to arrive into Melbourne for the next two weeks in an effort to reduce the spread of Covid-19 within the local community, Air New Zealand said in a press release.
It marks two weeks of double digit cases, prompting neighbouring states in Australia to delay reopening their borders with Victoria.
The airline was due to operate two return services to Melbourne today. Flight NZ123 from Auckland to Melbourne was operating as a cargo-only flight, while NZ124 was to fly inbound passengers to Auckland. The flights have since been cancelled.
Melbourne to Auckland passenger services will continue to operate as demand requires, however.
Ten areas in Melbourne are heading back into lockdown after a spike in coronavirus cases in the past fortnight, many through community transmission.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said police would be stationed in the affected postcodes with "booze bus style" checkpoints to make sure the lockdown is being enforced.
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