Air Chathams to withdraw scheduled flights between Auckland and Norfolk Island in April 2025

Air Chathams has completed its engagement period on the future of the Auckland to Norfolk Island route which involved further discussion with island-based groups representing the local community and some engagement with management of the regional council. Unfortunately, we have not been able to reach an agreed position that would give Air Chathams confidence to extend scheduled air services beyond our existing schedules which run until April 2025. And have made the difficult decision to withdraw our air service which was started in September 2019 but suffered significant disruption through the Covid-19 pandemic years.

Since the pandemic, rebuilding passenger numbers on the Norfolk Island route has proven difficult, as travel costs and operational expenses have increased significantly. Air Chathams continues to struggle with rising costs across the sector, including the cost of aircraft parts, aviation services (airports/airways/regulation), and labour force. Adding to these challenges, New Zealand has been in the grips of a fiscal slowdown and subsequent recession compounded by Air Chathams’ turboprop aircraft inability to match the lower per passenger operating costs of jet aircraft that serve other nearby South Pacific destinations, preventing the airline from discounting airfares further to boost demand without negatively impacting route sustainability.

Our ask of NIRC was for extended financial support, including a waiver of some per-passenger-based airport landing fees for a mutually agreed period and receiving New Zealand specific marketing funds to promote the route to Kiwis.

This support would have allowed Air Chathams the time and resources needed to reestablish demand and increase awareness for the route, which was operating successfully as both a charter and scheduled service before the pandemic. We believe that had this support been forthcoming then our business could have grown the demand back over a period of 18-24 months at which point no direct route subsidy would be required and Air Chathams could introduce additional weekly flights to better facilitate short trips for Kiwis holidaying on Norfolk Island and for local Norfolk residents to connect with family and business interests in New Zealand without needing to travel via Australia.

Air Chathams will continue to operate until April 2025 after which any flights will be operated on a charter basis only, working directly with tour companies wanting to fly groups to Norfolk Island over peak travel periods for this predominately leisure market.

As a family-owned airline, Air Chathams is deeply committed to supporting remote communities with essential, reliable, and safe air services. Our team has poured a huge amount of time and effort into our only international route, especially through the pandemic when we achieved special approval to temporarily reinstate scheduled flights under the trans-tasman travel bubble. So it is disheartening to know that those efforts have not resulted in what we had hoped to create when undertaking the route back in September 2019.

We would like to thank those in New Zealand and Norfolk Island that have supported us throughout our time, it has been greatly appreciated. We are looking forward to ending our scheduled services strongly and working with our partners on any future charter opportunities that may arise.

Ngā mihi nui,

Duane Emeny, Chief Commercial Officer