{"id":437469,"date":"2026-05-20T23:42:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T23:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/437469\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T23:42:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T23:42:21","slug":"air-new-zealand-revives-christchurch-as-an-intl-gateway-to-the-south-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/437469\/","title":{"rendered":"Air New Zealand revives Christchurch as an int’l gateway to the South Is"},"content":{"rendered":"

Air\u00a0New\u00a0Zealand is reintroducing three non-stop international routes from Christchurch to Singapore, Tokyo (Narita) and Perth as part of an agreement with Christchurch Airport to grow international connectivity into the South Island.<\/p>\n

Launching from\u00a0late\u00a0October, the new services mark a significant expansion of international flying from Christchurch, enabled by Air\u00a0New\u00a0Zealand\u2019s\u00a0787\u00a0aircraft\u00a0returning to service\u00a0after being grounded due to global engine maintenance issues,\u00a0and new\u00a0787\u00a0aircraft\u00a0entering the fleet.<\/p>\n

The Christchurch-Singapore service will\u00a0commence on 28\u00a0October, followed by Christchurch-Narita on 28 November, and Christchurch-Perth on\u00a030\u00a0November. Air New Zealand previously flew from Christchurch to Singapore in 2020, to Narita in 2015, and to Perth in 2019.<\/p>\n

\"Merlion,Merlion, Singapore | Credit: Jayjayli\/Unsplash<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Zealand is a trading nation so being well connected to the world matters,\u201d says Louise Upston, Tourism and Hospitality Minister. \u201cIt supports tourism, helps our exporters reach global markets, and ensures people and goods can move reliably.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis agreement between Air\u00a0New\u00a0Zealand and Christchurch Airport reflects a collective focus on long-term practical growth \u2013 strengthening direct connections and\u00a0opening up\u00a0more opportunities for\u00a0the South Island.<\/p>\n

Air\u00a0New\u00a0Zealand and Christchurch Airport have\u00a0also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)\u00a0to\u00a0develop a\u00a0long-term\u00a0partnership.\u00a0This will\u00a0see the airline and airport\u00a0aligning long-term planning and network development, with both organisations working together to support sustainable growth, improved customer experience, and stronger international connections for the South Island.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Christchurch International Airport | Credit: Facebook\/CHC<\/p>\n

Nikhil Ravishankar, Chief Executive of Air\u00a0New\u00a0Zealand says the\u00a0MOU\u00a0reflects\u00a0the airport and\u00a0airline\u2019s joint view of\u00a0long-term growth for Christchurch and the South Island.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs New Zealand\u2019s national airline we think about connectivity at a country level\u00a0\u2013\u00a0where we can\u00a0help\u00a0open up\u00a0the greatest\u00a0value and\u00a0opportunities for customers, for regions, and for the economy. With aircraft returning to service, we\u2019re now in the fantastic position of being able to grow again,\u00a0and\u00a0we are delighted this is going to happen in the South Island,\u201d Ravishankar said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0three\u00a0new routes are a\u00a0deliberate\u00a0step\u00a0to\u00a0reconnect Christchurch directly to major global hubs in Asia, strengthen links into Australia, and change how the South Island connects to the world, including where visitors arrive and how they move through the country. It reflects the strength of our partnership with Christchurch Airport and the work that\u2019s gone into building this together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new services are subject to regulatory approval.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Air\u00a0New\u00a0Zealand is reintroducing three non-stop international routes from Christchurch to Singapore, Tokyo (Narita) and Perth as part of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9293,4487,223739,1759,111,43,139,69,72,9739,11081],"class_list":["post-437469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-air-new-zealand","tag-christchurch","tag-christchurch-airport","tag-japan","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-perth","tag-singapore","tag-tokyo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}