Covid-19 vaccinations will continue to roll out in the southern regions next Saturday (April 10) when frontline workforces, including Queenstown Airport staff and their close contacts, will be vaccinated.

Queenstown Airport Corporation (QAC) chief executive Colin Keel said he was pleased the Queenstown Airport staff vaccination had been prioritised alongside other frontline workforces in anticipation of the Prime Minister’s announcement on Tuesday (April 6) regarding the reopening of the border with Australia. 

He said QAC has been working with the Southern District Health Board in response to the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure robust health protocols were in place at the airport in preparation for a return of international flights. 

"While the vaccination of airport staff is not a requirement for the border reopening, it is an important and welcome step to protect our frontline staff and to provide peace of mind for the whole airport community," Colin said.

As a trans-Tasman only international airport, Queenstown Airport is a “green zone” airport, and will have the approved protocols and procedures in place to safely manage flights to and from Australia when they resume, he said. 

Meanwhile, Queenstown Airport is also gearing up for a busy Easter period with 168 flights (arrivals and departures) scheduled between Thursday (April 1) and Easter Monday (April 5).  

“We are expecting about 22,000 passengers to come through the terminal over the five days,” a QAC spokesperson said.

Compared with Easter 2019 (pre-Covid), that’s a decrease of around 27 per cent. In 2019 Easter fell later in April but about 30,000 domestic passenger movements were recorded at Queenstown Airport over the 2019 Easter period.

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