31 Dec 2021

Air New Zealand will not serve snacks during domestic flights

6:24 pm on 31 December 2021

Air New Zealand will stop serving food and drinks on its domestic flights from tomorrow.

Passengers sitting at a distance from each other on an Air New Zealand flight from Christchurch to Queenstown on 14 May,

Water will still be available upon request during Air New Zealand's domestic flights. (File image) Photo: RNZ / Nathan McKinnon

In a statement, chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said customers would instead be given a snack when they leave the aircraft.

"We know customers look forward to their cookie, popcorn or bliss bites so rather than pause food and beverage service, we have made the decision to offer our popular snacks to our customers to enjoy when they arrive at their destination."

Water will still be available upon request.

Air New Zealand hopes the move will help protect staff and travellers from the threat of Omicron, because it means masks can be kept on throughout a flight.

"It's anticipated that we will soon see the Omicron variant within the New Zealand community, so we are making this change now to further safeguard our customers and crew," Geraghty said.

The airline said the change was temporary and would be reviewed on a regular basis.

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs