New Caledonia’s tourism industry is hopeful for a rebound as Air New Zealand resumed its flights over the weekend.

To mark Air New Zealand’s return, on its social networks, Nouméa-La Tontouta international airport posted a vibrant “Welcome Back to New Caledonia Air New Zealand, we are happy to welcome you back on our tarmac”.

The much-awaited resumption comes almost 18 months after the scheduled flights were interrupted following grave civil unrest that broke out mid-May 2024.

• READ MORE: French Overseas Minister Moutchou postpones first visit to New Caledonia
• Other Kanaky New Caledonia reports

Air New Zealand ceased flights between Auckland and Nouméa, the French territory’s capital, on 15 June 2024, at the height of violent civil unrest.

It said at the time that regarding New Caledonia, the New Zealand government still recommended to “exercise increased caution” (Level 2 of 4) due to the “ongoing risk of civil unrest”.

The riots resulted in 14 deaths, more than 2.2 billion euros (NZ$4 billion) in damage, thousands of businesses and jobs destroyed and a sharp drop in the French Pacific territory’s GDP (-13.5 percent), bringing its economy to its knees.

Tourism from its main regional source markets, namely Australia and New Zealand, also came to a standstill.

Numbers collapsed
On New Zealand arrivals, between the first quarters of 2024 and 2025, visitor numbers collapsed by 90 percent (from 1731 to 186).

Latest statistics published by local institute ISEE confirmed the sharp drop, for the first quarter of 2025 — only 9670 arrivals, a record drop of 62 percent compared to the previous year.

This is the worst volume observed for the past 30 years (not including the covid pandemic period).

New Caledonia’s tourism stakeholders have welcomed the resumption of the service to and from New Zealand, saying this will allow the industry to launch fresh, targeted promotional campaigns on the New Zealand market.

New Caledonia’s international carrier Air Calédonie International (Air Calin) is also operating two weekly flights to Auckland from the Nouméa-La Tontouta international airport, in code-sharing mode.

Local authorities were also placing high hopes in the other key source market of the region — Australia. New Caledonia’s stakeholders are planning to launch significant promotional campaigns.

“Air New Zealand is resuming its Auckland-Nouméa service starting 1 November 2025. Initially, flights will operate once a week on a Saturday. This follows the New Zealand government’s decision to update its safe travel advisory level for New Caledonia.

“The resumption of services reflects our commitment to reconnecting New Zealand and New Caledonia, ensuring that travel is safe and reliable for our customers. We will continue to monitor this route closely.

“Passengers are encouraged to check the latest safe travel advisory and Air New Zealand’s official channels for updates on flight schedules,” the company stated.

“Political tensions and civil unrest may increase at short notice. Avoid all demonstrations, protests, and rallies as they have the potential to turn violent with little warning.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Air New Zealand has announced it plans to resume its Auckland-Nouméa flights from November, almost one and a half years after deadly civil unrest broke out in the French Pacific territory.

“Air New Zealand is resuming its Auckland-Nouméa service starting 1 November 2025. Initially, flights will operate once a week on a Saturday. This follows the New Zealand Government’s decision to update its safe travel advisory level for New Caledonia”, the company stated in its latest update yesterday.

“The resumption of services reflects our commitment to reconnecting New Zealand and New Caledonia, ensuring that travel is safe and reliable for our customers. We will continue to monitor this route closely.

• READ MORE: New Caledonia, French Polynesia at UN decolonisation seminar in Dili
• Other Kanaky New Caledonia reports

“Passengers are encouraged to check the latest travel advisories and Air New Zealand’s official channels for updates on flight schedules”, said Air New Zealand general manager short haul Lucy Hall.

In its updated advisory regarding New Caledonia, the New Zealand government still recommends “Exercise increased caution” (Level 2 of 4).

It said this was “due to the ongoing risk of civil unrest”.

In some specific areas (the Loyalty Islands, the Isle of Pines (Iles de Pins), and inland of the coastal strip between Mont Dore and Koné), it is still recommended to “avoid non-essential travel (Level 3 of 4).”

Warning over ‘civil unrest’
The advisory also recalls that “there was a prolonged period of civil unrest in New Caledonia in 2024. Political tensions and civil unrest may increase at short notice”.

“Avoid all demonstrations, protests, and rallies as they have the potential to turn violent with little warning”.

Air New Zealand ceased flights between Auckland and the French territory’s capital, Nouméa on 15 June 2024, at the height of violent civil unrest.

Since then, it has maintained its no-show for the French Pacific territory, one of its closest neighbours.

Air New Zealand’s general manager international Jeremy O’Brien said at the time this was due to “pockets of unrest” remaining in New Caledonia and “safety is priority”.

New Caledonia’s international carrier Air Calédonie International (Aircalin) is also operating two weekly flights to Auckland from the Nouméa-La Tontouta international airport.

The riots that broke out on 13 May 2024 resulted in 14 deaths and more than 2.2 billion euros (NZ$4.1 billion) in damages, bringing New Caledonia’s economy to its knees, with thousands of businesses and jobs destroyed.

Tourism from its main regional source markets, namely Australia and New Zealand, also came to a standstill.

Specifically regarding New Zealand, local statistics show that between the first quarters of 2024 and 2025, visitor numbers collapsed by 90 percent (from 1731 to 186).

New Caledonia’s tourism stakeholders have welcomed the resumption of the service to and from New Zealand, saying this will allow the industry to relaunch targeted promotional campaigns in the New Zealand market.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

For the first time in more than two years, New Zealand’s border will reopen to international visitors at midnight tonight.

On 19 March 2020, New Zealand snapped its border shut to anyone without citizenship or residency, before any covid-19-related deaths were recorded.

It was the first time in our history such a move was made, with the ban also including those from the Pacific.

• READ MORE: Covid-19 update: Fourteen more deaths, 8242 new community cases
• ‘Shooting ourselves in the foot’ – NZ doctor calls for tighter mask rules

Today, the countdown is on to welcome back vaccinated visitors from 60 visa-waiver countries.

New Zealand’s already reopened the border to vaccinated Australians and some international students.

Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran said almost 1000 people will arrive on the first three flights, which will come from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Fiji.

The airline has been struggling to prepare for the influx in international visitors due to staff recruitment issues.

The Ministry of Health reported 14 more more deaths with covid-19 and a further 8242 new community cases on Friday.

The seven-day rolling average of case numbers was 7540, down from last week’s 8166.

The total number of reported deaths with covid-19 rose to 737

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed that the whole of New Zealand will move into the red light covid-19 setting at midnight tonight in response to the covid-19 pandemic.

Nine covid-19 cases in Nelson yesterday have been confirmed as the omicron variant, Ardern said.

Another household member has since tested positive.

• READ MORE: Samoa announces covid lockdown from 6pm last night until 6pm on Monday
• Health workers prepare to support Omicron cases remotely
• Auckland City Mission Omicron plans in place

They are one family and recently attended a wedding and other events in Auckland and there is no clear link to the border.

Ardern said there were well over 100 people at these events.

The family was on the same flight as an Air New Zealand flight attendant who tested positive. All members of the family who were eligible have been double vaccinated, Ardern said.

“That means omicron is now circulating in Auckland and possibly the Nelson-Marlborough region, if not elsewhere,” Ardern said.

Focus on slowing the spread
Ardern said the focus is on slowing the spread of the omicron variant and the strategy includes rapid tests, contact tracing and isolating cases and contacts.

New Zealand’s system has “significant capacity” to work on stamping out outbreaks due to low case numbers, she said.

Watch the NZ government media briefing today. Video: RNZ News

“We know we will see far more cases than we have in the two years to date, but the difference to previous outbreaks is we are vaccinated and we are better prepared.”

Ardern encouraged New Zealanders to get their boosters saying it will help limit the spread and limit the likelihood of someone getting sick or needing to go to hospital.

She also encouraged parents and caregivers to seek out information about vaccines for their children.

Already, 20 percent of children aged 5-11 have been vaccinated or are booked to receive their vaccination.

Red light setting
Ardern reminded people the red light settings was not a lockdown.

She said it had restrictions, but business was still open, gathering numbers were reduced and differed depending on whether people were vaccinated or not.

Hospitality was seated and required a single server.

She said schools remained open, with mask wearing for everyone from year 4 upwards.

Ardern said school ventilation systems would be assessed.

Ardern encouraged households to have a “buddy” to help with food, for example, if someone in a household was unwell from covid-19.

The government had been preparing for three stages in its response to omicron, Ardern said.

Phase one includes the period up to 1000 cases a day or less. This is expected to take up to 14 days to arrive, and involves a “stamping-out approach”, she said. That includes contact tracing, isolation and testing anyone with symptoms at a community testing station or primary health provider. PCR tests will be used, but rapid antigen tests will also be rolled out to these providers.

In stage one people will need to isolate for 14 days if they are a case or a contact.

Stage two is a transition stage where the system is adjusted to identifying those at greater risk of omicron and where there is the greatest risk of severe illness from omicron.

When asked, Ardern said her wedding would not be going ahead under the red setting.

Ardern said New Zealand was not likely to enter stage three for a few weeks.

Stage three will involve changes to contact tracing. It will include the definition of contacts and isolation requirements and more details will be provided on Wednesday.

“It’s important to remember covid is a different foe to what it was at the beginning,” Ardern said.

Because of vaccinations, it would be a mild to moderate illness which could be managed at home, she said.

But she said the “team” still needed to do what it could to slow it down, as some people are immuno-compromised and more vulnerable to the virus.

When asked if cabinet had considered funding N95 masks, Ardern said there would be an assessment on mask advice to consider if there needed to be an update.

Risk of undetected omicron transmission ‘high’ – Bloomfield
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said anyone with symptoms should get tested for Covid-19.

He said the risk of undetected transmission of the omicron variant in Auckland was considered high, because the Nelson family that had tested positive spent time at a wedding there.

New locations of interest will be listed on the Ministry of Health’s website.

There are five Air New Zealand flights that are locations of interest, which include the flights the infected family took, and the flights the flight attendant worked on.

• Flight NZ5083 from Auckland to Nelson at 5.20pm on 16 January
• NZ5080 Nelson to Auckland at 4pm on 19 January
• NZ5077 Auckland to Nelson at 2pm on 19 January
• NZ5049 Auckland to New Plymouth at 7.50pm on 19 January
• NZ5042 New Plymouth to Auckland at 1.50pm on 20 January

Contacts who have been at a location of interest were legally required to isolate and get tested as per Section 70, Dr Bloomfield said.

The risk of undetected transmission was judged as being high, as it was unclear how they became infected and they attended a wedding, he said.

As of 11pm last night, 150 of 192 people on the Air New Zealand flights had been contacted by health officials.

Attendees at the wedding have attended other venues with high numbers of people, including a funeral, an amusement park, the Sky Tower and domestic airports.

It is expected the number of cases and contacts will grow, Dr Bloomfield said.

Dr Bloomfield said people who needed medical care could receive it, and urged them to not put it off. Hospitals are at 84 percent occupancy, which was typical at this time of year, and ICU occupancy was under 70 percent.

Wage subsidy scheme for sick/isolating workers – Robertson
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Grant Robertson said the economic disruption from the omicron variant was expected to be more on the supply side of things — as seen overseas.

He said the initial focus was on those unable to be at work because they were infected or were a close contact isolating.

Support for these people included the Covid-19 Leave Support Scheme, which was paid at the same rate as the Wage Subsidy Scheme.

There would also be a scheme in place for people unable to work from home when waiting on covid-19 test results.

Robertson said New Zealand could afford the financial support the government was providing — and if anything, cannot afford to not provide it.

He said the country’s debt is lower than expected in part because of the wider covid-19 action taken in New Zealand.

Robertson said the scenario planning shows there could be 350,00 people self-isolating at once at the mid-point scenario planning, which would be with 25,000 cases.

Samoa announces 48-hour lockdown
In Samoa, RNZ Pacific reports that Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa had announced the country would be going into lockdown from last night at 6pm until 6pm on Monday evening.

Only essential services would be allowed but all offices and shops, including all public transport, would be closed. Churches were also closed.

“No vehicles will be allowed on the roads during his time and police will be monitoring,” she said.

The prime minister said the decision was to ensure proper measures were in place to avert community transmission.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

It followed Judith Collins’ tumultuous exit as leader last week, after she summarily demoted Bridges last week.

Shellshocked, MPs went into a hastily called caucus the next morning and cast a vote of no confidence in her. Deputy Shane Reti became interim leader and the vote for leader was set down for today.

• READ MORE: NZ’s covid-19 update for November 30: 134 new community cases today
• Other NZ covid lockdown reports

“It is a tremendous privilege to lead our great party, and I thank my colleagues for the confidence they have placed in me,” Luxon said in a statement shortly after the vote.

Luxon, a former chief executive of Air New Zealand between 2012-2019, also said that he was pleased Nicola Willis had been chosen as his deputy.

“She will do an incredible job and we will be a formidable team.”

They face a National Party reset at a critical when New Zealand has been facing its toughest covid-19 lockdown after initially weathering the first waves of the virus last year.

Evangelical Christian
Luxon, who describes himself as an Evangelical Christian and has expressed his opposition to policies such as abortion and cannabis legalisation, said he had entered politics because he was a problem solver who “gets things done”.

“I have built a career out of reversing the fortunes of under-performing companies and I’ll bring that real-world experience to this role.”

Luxon said he and Willis would be working hard to earn back New Zealanders’ trust and confidence “and deliver for them”.

He also promised that the party would be unified under their leadership.

“We are the new National Party that New Zealand needs.”

Luxon’s main rival, former leader Simon Bridges, tweeted his support for Luxon with just over an hour remaining before this afternoon’s caucus meeting where the party voted on the new leader.

“This morning I met with Chris Luxon and had a great discussion. I am withdrawing from the leadership contest and will be backing Chris. He will make a brilliant National leader and Prime Minister,” he said.

This morning I met with Chris Luxon and had a great discussion. I am withdrawing from the leadership contest and will be backing Chris. He will make a brilliant National leader and Prime Minister.

— Simon Bridges (@simonjbridges) November 30, 2021

Few words for media
“Luxon had few words for the media as he arrived at Parliament this afternoon.

“Great day for the National Party, it’s really wonderful today … I’m looking forward to going to see my caucus colleagues,” he said.

Other National MPs were saying little as they arrived at Parliament throughout the morning and early afternoon.

Covid-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop, who had been raised as a possibility in initial speculation about the leadership, also backed Luxon.

“He’s gonna make a great leader of the National Party, he’s gonna make a great prime minister, I can’t wait to serve in his team. It’s an exciting day for New Zealand, big reset moment for the National Party.”

He said Bridges would remain in the party.

“Simon’s gonna be a critical part of the National team going forward, he’s got undoubted political skills, I’m really looking forward to serving with him, he’s gonna make a great whatever role he gets from Christopher Luxon and National just resets now.

Go forward together
“We go forward together and we’re gonna change the government in two years’ time.”

Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey said it would mean a new direction for the party.

“I’m looking for a fresh start and a new vision for the party, and a new vision for the country. I’m looking forward to that, it’s exciting.”

List MP Melissa Lee said she thought Luxon was “very experienced in life”.

“He is very new but the thing is that he’s not daft. He’s a very intelligent man, I think he has led companies before and although it is actually a very different feel, that experience does speak to his life experience and I think he will make a great leader.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

A former Air New Zealand flight attendant who is now at the frontlines of Auckland’s covid vaccination rollout says it is not a career change she ever anticipated — but one she couldn’t be more proud of.

Coral Davies was made redundant last year after working with Air New Zealand for nearly 33 years.

While a covid-related redundancy isn’t how she would have chosen to leave the industry, looking back she said it gave her time to reflect and see what she wanted to do next.

• READ MORE: Covid-19 update: 75 new community cases in NZ today
• Other reports on NZ covid lockdown

After working at an electoral booth in October, then supervising NCEA exams, she decided retirement wasn’t for her and she wanted to do something in the community that she truly believed in.

That led to her applying to the District Health Board to work at the vaccination sites – and she is now the supervisor at the Albany centre.

She loves it there — welcoming people, answering questions, making sure they have everything they need and that the clinic runs smoothly.

Davies said many of the skills she had developed at Air New Zealand transferred over — particularly around the customer journey and making sure it was a good experience for people.

She is not the only former Air New Zealand staffer there — former flight crew and baggage handlers have also found new jobs using their carefully honed customer care skills.

“I did say to somebody one day – gosh it’s a great job, it’s like being on aircraft without the aeroplane.

“And it’s great to see people walk out going ‘wow that was amazing’ – when actually they’ve come to have a needle put in their arm quite frankly!”

Davies’ care and enthusiasm has gone somewhat viral this week — her daughter Emily visited the clinic to get her own vaccination and tweeted about it, writing:

“Mum was made redundant after 33 years with AirNZ last year and yesterday I got to see her thriving in her new role as a supervisor at a vaccination centre. She treats every person coming in for a vaccine like they’re stepping in to business class. It’s fabulous!”

Mum was made redundant after 33 years with AirNZ last year and yesterday I got to see her thriving in her new role as a supervisor at a vaccination centre. She treats every person coming in for a vaccine like they’re stepping in to business class. It’s fabulous!

— Emily (@EmilyJDavies) August 29, 2021

The tweet has become a bright spot in an online world which can look pretty bleak right now — at last count it had 19,000 ‘likes’.

Davies said the feedback had been overwhelming but also exciting.

“We should be treating people like they’re stepping into business class quite frankly – every person that steps into a vaccination site for their vaccine is actually doing something to keep all of us safe, so from my mind they deserve us to treat them like they are royalty coming into the site.”

Davies stressed she was just one part of a big team making the vaccination rollout happen – and had this advice for anyone facing a similar fork in their career road.

“It may not be where you thought you were going to be in the first place, but it could be just as great and just as much fun.”

• New Zealand’s Ministry of Health reported 75 new cases of covid-19 in the community today. Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said one of the new cases was in Wellington and the rest in Auckland. Yesterday, 49 new community cases were reported — a fall from Monday.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Cook Islands Te Marae Ora Ministry of Health has apologised to passengers who were offloaded in error on an Air New Zealand flight to Rarotonga on Thursday (Wednesday, Cook Islands time).

The government said 13 passengers were offloaded off the flight after it was discovered they had originated from Wellington.

In a statement last night, the government said the passengers were offloaded at the request of Te Marae Ora Ministry of Health, which made the decision after the Wellington region moved into alert level 2 when it was discovered a traveller from Sydney visited the New Zealand capital and later tested positive for covid-19.

• READ MORE: NSW covid situation ‘worsening’, premier warns of tougher restrictions
• No NZ community cases, four in MIQ, Health Ministry reports

No community cases have been reported in New Zealand since the Sydney traveller visited Wellington. However, New South Wales health authorities have reported 33 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total of the Delta variant alert cases to 82 since June 16 and a Greater Sydney lockdown.

The Cook Islands ministry did not specify how many of the 13 passengers were offloaded in error.

Yesterday Health Secretary Bob Williams defended the decision, saying it was in line with the government’s “precautionary approach” as well as Wellington Airport having been listed as a location of interest.

“I make no apologies for taking this decision,” Williams said.

Apology for ‘stress, uncertainty’
“I do apologise to the passengers who were offloaded in error and for the stress and uncertainty it caused all off-loaded passengers.

“I also apologise to those visitors currently in Rarotonga who have had their holidays temporarily disrupted –- sometimes in the middle of the night –- so that members of my staff could swab them. These tourists have mostly been 100 percent supportive of our efforts and for this I am extremely grateful.”

Williams said he was grateful for the co-operation of resort and private accommodation people who worked with the ministry and assisted with locating and getting messages to their guests.

Cook Islands News reported TMO’s response was applauded by many in the industry following Wellington moving to alert level 2, however one accommodation provider said they were concerned about possible interactions between the Wellington-originating passengers and others at Auckland Airport prior to boarding for Rarotonga.

“What happened effectively on Wednesday was that the people from Wellington mixed and mingled with other people at the departure lounge at the airport,” the accommodation provider said.

“Potentially you could have had a whole plane infected.”

Williams said 124 people had been tested during the 24-hour period ending Thursday afternoon, all having returned a negative result.

Unlikely last disruption
“This will likely not be the last time travel under the Quarantine Free Travel arrangement between New Zealand and the Cook Islands is disrupted. Disruptions do need to be factored into everyone’s plans”.

In a release, the ministry said officials are presuming the Australian case has the Delta variant and that he likely contracted the virus in Sydney. On Thursday, parts of the city have moved into lockdown after another 22 cases were confirmed.

The ministry is asking any passengers who Te Marae Ora has not tracked down and who have visited a location of interest are asked to call health officials as soon as possible.

All visitors were also asked to complete a health declaration form and the arrival cards truthfully.

“Our systems have been tested again this week and have worked but we have also learned from this test and will be making some adjustments to our processes,” Williams said.

Te Marae Ora said it was continuing to monitor the situation in Wellington.

Republished with permission.

Although international travel restrictions for Australia have been extended to at least June, there may still be potential for a trans-Tasman bubble with New Zealand (and maybe some other countries), according to reports.

Air New Zealand will begin trialling digital vaccine passports (or “immunity passports”) on routes to Australia in April.

Ideally, these digital certificates will allow authorities to quickly check whether prospective travellers have been vaccinated.

• READ MORE: Covid ‘vaccine passport’ may further disadvantage refugees and asylum seekers
  

The specific passport system New Zealand is set to adopt — along with Qantas, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways — is the International Air Transport Association (IATA)‘s digital Travel Pass app.

But to be effective, this system would need to meet several key criteria. The vaccine passports would need to be linked securely to travellers, comply with different countries’ regulations and be almost impossible to illegally copy or modify.

How would it work?
It is expected at least the vast majority of people travelling on an airline using the IATA software will have to use the pass. The system has four steps:

1. a vaccine-recording component for when a person is first vaccinated
2. the transfer of this person’s vaccine-related and personal data to the IATA software
3. verification of the data by an authorised party
4. digital cross-checking, to ensure a government’s travel requirements are applied to all travellers entering or leaving that country. This would also make sure each traveller has the necessary prerequisites needed to enter their destination country.

The software would work by establishing an international network of trusted vaccine providers. The IATA is already compiling this list. These providers, including hospitals and clinics, would receive access to the software’s vaccine-recording component.

With this they woud log information about a patient’s vaccination and identity details (such as passport number). So you would almost certainly need to present a valid passport when getting vaccinated.

For those already vaccinated by the time the system is rolled out, an option would be needed to transfer existing records to the app. Again, this would require confirmation the person requesting the data transfer is the same person who was vaccinated.

Before-departure checks
Once your vaccine and identification details are logged, this would generate a data file to be sent securely to the app’s software. This file would be encrypted and stored on the device itself, only to be retrieved by an authorised person with your consent.

Border and airline staff could check whether the lab identification is valid by comparing it to the IATA’s list of trusted vaccine providers. This check would be done using a wireless near-field communication system, similar to that used for contactless payments.

At this point, the border control unit would also confirm if the identification you presented when getting your vaccine is still valid. They could also check your passport against the national passport database, which is standard procedure.

Such a system could be set up to flag important updates. If a vaccine batch failed quality control, or a certain provider was removed from the approved providers list, this would need to be reflected quickly.

Security advantages of vaccine passports
A notable advantage of vaccine passports is they’re hard to forge compared to paper records. The IATA software would unbreakably link your identification details with your vaccination status.

Even if someone stole your phone or copied its data, this data would match only your passport. If they stole your passport, too, they’d likely still get caught during normal passport checks.

On Apple (iOS) smartphones the in-built “secure enclave” feature would prevent your Travel Pass app information from being moved remotely to another device without the right permissions. Android and other operating systems have similar tools used for smart wallets.

Using vaccine passports also minimises data sharing. In each case of information transaction, such as when crossing border control, the only data shared are your identification details and vaccine information.

An achievable set-up
Most countries are requiring that all covid vaccines administered be recorded on a national register. In Australia, this is the Australian Immunisation Register.

The IATA will publish the Travel Pass app’s software interface, which is what enables other programs to transfer data to and from the software.

With the interface available, countries should be able to simply integrate the software into their own vaccine management systems. Governments could even apply their own rules to the software.

For instance, one may decide to reject vaccine records from a particular provider, or demand a longer waiting period once a vaccine is received.

This could obviously cause problems for travellers who may be planning to go to a destination with different protocols to the origin country. That’s why this would have to be sorted prior to travel, just as visas often are.

Minor issues and loopholes
For now, a digital vaccine passport would only be available for people with a smartphone or tablet. Also, each traveller in a group would need their own vaccine passport.

This could be tricky for families with young children or other dependants who don’t (or can’t) use smart devices. One fix would be for parents or carers to store dependants’ information on their own device.

The only credible route for vaccine passport forgery would be if a vaccination management system, such as one used by a GP or hospital, somehow recorded patient data incorrectly.

This could be done by someone deliberately impersonating someone else. Then again, the impostor would have to convince both the health worker administering their vaccine and staff at the airport. This would be difficult if a passport is used.

Similarly, a hacker could potentially attack the Australian Immunisation Register (or other vaccine registers) to generate false data to feed into the IATA system. But these registries tend to be well-protected.

And if one were compromised, it would be simple to invalidate vaccine certificates tracing back to it for as long as the issue was not resolved.

Dr Dave Parry, professor of computer science, Auckland University of Technology. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Genome sequencing has showed the Air New Zealand crew member who tested positive for covid-19 in China is not linked to known cases in New Zealand, the Ministry of Health says.

In a statement, the ministry reported one new case of the coronavirus in managed isolation today.

The person arrived on November 14 from the United Kingdom via the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia and tested positive around day 12 of their stay in managed isolation.

• READ MORE: Three PNG government MPs test covid-positive amid political crisis

The ministry said genomic results had been returned for the case of the Air New Zealand crew member who tested positive for covid-19 on November 18 after arriving in Shanghai, China, and was confirmed with testing in New Zealand yesterday.

This indicates the person was likely exposed to the virus overseas, but the ministry said it would continue to take precautions because the source of infection was still unknown.

The ministry had been acting as though it was a case of transmission from New Zealand out of an “abundance of caution”.

The crew member returned to New Zealand yesterday morning on a flight with crew in PPE, who were being monitored, isolated and tested.

Contacts in isolation
The ministry said it had incorrectly reported yesterday that all the person’s contacts were in isolation, saying one person of the 11 reported yesterday was a “potential” close contact under investigation.

Today, the ministry said 12 close contacts had been identified.

All the contacts had undergone further testing, with nine returning negative tests, the ministry said.

It said it sent notifications through the Covid Tracer app for six locations visited by the crew member, which by 10am had been received by 96 app users.

In a separate statement this afternoon, the ministry also announced new rules for frontline managed isolation workers, including nurses and defence force staff.

There was no live briefing today.

New Zealand’s total number of confirmed cases is 1684. The Air New Zealand crew member is not counted in this figure, as it was initially reported in China, so is being counted as a case in China.

Laboratories completed 9083 tests yesterday, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 1,252,601.

Yesterday, there were eight new cases in managed isolation, including five from one family.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

Air New Zealand stands accused of borderline legal treatment of thousands of workers as the country entered its first day in a month-long lockdown over the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

It has told its workers they must take all their leave soon, a move a union says is not in the spirit of the law.

Meanwhile, two other airlines are in crisis talks with one, Virgin Australia, which is just hours away from canning its entire operation here, 550 jobs.

READ MORE: Death toll in Italy rises to 7503 as Spain’s toll surpasses China

• Police warn ‘consequences’ for New Zealanders who fail to comply with lockdown

RNZ understands other crisis talks are going on at Qantas-owned stablemates Jetstar and Jet Connect.

Air New Zealand has got a near government loan bailout but still aims to cut perhaps 30 percent of its 12,500 staff.

It had been proceeding by seeking staff buy-in to its cost-saving measures, which “was great”, E tū union assistant national secretary Rachel Mackintosh said.

Then, a directive yesterday, from Air NZ chief executive Greg Foran caused dismay, she said,

“For the next two weeks, everybody will just be paid as normal,” she said.

‘Take all available leave’
“And then after two weeks, they want people to take all available leave for everybody who isn’t required to carry on with essential work.”

It was not as if employees were required to use up their leave before the employer could seek a government Covid-19 wage subsidy, Mackintosh said.

“This is out of the blue.

“If people use up all their leave now when they actually don’t want a holiday, then it’s an issue. It’s probably marginally legal because you can give two weeks’ notice of annual leave – but [only] when you’ve tried to work with people on a suitable time for them to take leave and failed.”

A staff member at Wellington Airport told RNZ, with tears in his eyes, that the directive had left him questioning what was going on.

Air New Zealand did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia expected to wrap up talks with E tū and the Air Line Pilots’ Association within 24 to 48 hours.

‘Hardest decision’
“We’ve regrettably had to make one of the hardest decisions anyone would ever have to make – and that is to make our New Zealand-based employees redundant,” Virgin chief executive Paul Scurrah said.

“That’s the consultation process started today … we will be consulting with them over the next 24 hours to work out the way this is done.”

The airline employs 200 pilots and 340 cabin crew at bases in Auckland and Christchurch.

“I’ve been made redundant two or three times in my career as well, I know how painful it can be,” Scurrah said.

“But the certainty that comes with it, and the payment that comes with it, is the very least that we can give our people so that they can move on.”

All redundancy that is due would be paid out, he said.

He said he wrote to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern a week ago to ask how together they might support workers.

“I haven’t heard back from the New Zealand government so… I don’t know. We tried, and unfortunately, we were faced with this decision.”

Safeguarding Australian business
Virgin said it cut operations here as a priority, to safeguard its Australian business.

Scurrah indicated it could be a long time until the airline returned to New Zealand, as all flyers would be cautious, post-pandemic.

“I think what we’ll see is, in many ways, it’ll bring us closer together once the restrictions are lifted … the ties between both countries are very deep and will recover.”

Virgin Australia has stood down 8000 of its total 10,000 workers in Australia.

E tū director Alan Clarence is in the talks with Virgin.

He said prospects for cabin crew were “pretty grim”.

“It’s pretty hard to transfer within the [Virgin] group because it would mean going to Australia which is in lockdown as well,” he said.

Crew ‘anxious, upset’
Crew were “very anxious, they’re worried and, and they’re upset”.

Jetstar and Jet Connect employ another 200 pilots in this country, and like Virgin, are poised to chop international flights entirely on Monday next week.

Virgin said it had approached companies including supermarket major Foodstuffs to see if they had any jobs going.

Ground handlers at airports will also be affected.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

• If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP – don’t show up at a medical centre.

New Zealand faced another day today consumed by Covid-19 coronavirus developments.

The nation woke with the news that the country’s borders had been closed to anyone who was not a citizen or a permanent resident still fresh.

Health Minister David Clark said the restrictions at the border would remain in place for the foreseeable future.

READ MORE: Al Jazeera live coronavirus updates – Italy deaths top 3405, 41,000 cases

• New Zealand cases in detail
• Pacific cases jump to 26 – French Polynesia has 11 confirmed cases – Fiji’s first
• RNZ coronavirus timeline
• Follow RNZ’s live blog for updates

Among the major developments was the Ministry of Health’s confirmation of 11 new cases in New Zealand, bringing the total to 39.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashely Bloomfield said said there was no evidence yet that the virus was circulating in the community – and some of the 11 had been linked to overseas travel – but health officials were still investigating some cases.

All of the latest victims were at home in self-isolation.

Five of the 11 were in Auckland, two were in Hamilton, two in Wellington, and one each in Canterbury and Hawke’s Bay.

Dr Bloomfield said one of the people announced yesterday that had the virus – a man in his 60s – was in Queenstown Lakes Hospital in a stable condition.

Air New Zealand protection
New Zealand’s sharemarket opened modestly higher this morning after Wall Street rallied, however, the national airline Air New Zealand’s share price slumped by 34 percent as it resumed trading after a four-day halt.

Later in the morning, the government revealed it was stepping in to help protect Air New Zealand from the turmoil caused by Covid-19, providing up to $900 million in loans.

The airline will be able to call on the loan if its cash reserves fall below an undisclosed level over the next two years, and the government – which already owns 52 percent of the company – will have the ability to turn the loan into shares in the airline.

Despite that, the airline’s chief executive Greg Foran still said 30 percent of the workforce would not be needed.

• If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs)

On the day of the arrival in Vanuatu of World Bank Vice President Victoria Kwakwa, tourism industry stakeholders are reportedly calling for a quick resolution to an apparent impasse over the selection of a contractor to perform the upgrades to the Bauerfield airport runway.

In late December, a World Bank procurement expert told bidders that she hoped to be able to announce the winning bid within a month of the tenders being unsealed. Nearly two months have passed, however, and no announcement has been made.

The Vanuatu Daily Post has received reliable reports that the crux of the delay is an impasse over the preferred contractor. Sources have confirmed that there are differing opinions about which one should win, and that price is a concern for at least one of the parties.

READ MORE: Vanuatu airport runway repairs usher in new tourism era

Most parties will not speak on the record because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations, but aviation stakeholders stated last week that they were ready to ask for high level government intervention in order to break the impasse.

Over the weekend, government representatives confirmed that they were willing to intervene in the process.

One political operative, who chose to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the affair, confirmed that a letter had been sent to a minister by tourism industry representatives, expressing concern at the economic cost of further delays.

It is widely known that several tourism operations are approaching the end of the line in terms of their ability to continue doing business at these depressed levels, and that any curbs on inflows over the upcoming peak season could spell disaster for them.

Expedited upgrade
The expedited runway upgrade bidding process had been designed with an eye to breaking ground in April, in order to ensure that any interruptions in service would not affect peak season tourist traffic.

Being able to announce completion of the runway upgrades by July might also have the effect of enticing Air New Zealand to return to scheduled service.

While arrival numbers from New Zealand are not huge, a vote of confidence from one of the most highly regarded airlines in the world would go a long way to reassuring travelers about the safety of the runway.

A completed runway upgrade might also convince Qantas to restore their code share with Air Vanuatu on their Sydney and Brisbane to Port Vila service.

Sources have confided that part of the problem stems from a lack of trust in the judgment of some parties. Vanuatu deferred to the World Bank’s choice of project manager during the emergency repair process, and later expressed regret when additional repairs were proven necessary.

Flight turned back
A Virgin Australia flight was turned back last year when additional damage was discovered on the runway, on a section that the project manager had deemed safe.

Nobody’s safety was affected because Airports Vanuatu Ltd was conducting visual inspections of the runway before every jet aircraft arrival and departure.

But the effect on the confidence of international tourism operators was palpably negative.

Parties to the negotiation have quietly accepted that the government’s position is understandable, and said that they view the Vice-President’s visit as an opportunity to “cut the knot” and move ahead with repairs to the runway.

Kwakwa is visiting the country to sign an agreement establishing a country office in Vanuatu.

She was joining at a signing ceremony yesterday by Minister of Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Jotham Napat, and Finance Minister Gaetan Pikioune.

Dan McGarry is media director of the Vanuatu Daily Post group.

• More airport upgrade delays

By Jane Joshua and Jonas Cullwick in Port Vila

Virgin Australia, has temporarily suspended its flights to Vanuatu over runway safety concerns at Port Vila’s Bauerfield Airport.

Sources informed the Daily Post that there was “no response” from the control tower at Bauerfield when a Virgin Airlines flight bound for Australia left the airport on Monday.

In other developments in the airport safety row, the National Bank of Vanuatu has revealed it is “happy to work” with the Vanuatu government to fund the immediate runway upgrade needs up to the value of US$1 million.

Virgin offers three weekly flights between Brisbane and Port Vila, but the Sydney Morning Herald reported:

“The carrier said after a further review of the runway on Wednesday, it had decided it would only operate one last return service between Brisbane and Port Vila on Saturday to return customers to their port of origin.”

Previously Air New Zealand had suspended its flights to Port Vila and Qantas suspended its code-sharing arrangement with Air Vanuatu over similar concerns.

These concerns may soon be eased as the National Bank of Vanuatu (NBV) has considered assisting the Vanuatu government.

Bank offer
Speaking exclusively with the Daily Post at the weekend, an executive member of the NBV, Michael Fimeri, said the bank was happy to work with the Vanuatu government to fund the immediate needs of the runway, to resurface the runway up to a price of US$1 million, assuming it could work out satisfactory terms with the government.

“The loan has a zero percent interest, subject to the terms agreed with the government,” he said.

Asked how soon this could happen, Fimeri replied: “The funds are available as of [Saturday], subject to negotiations with the government.”

He added that he understood there was a quote to fix the runway from a local company, which would happen in a “short space of time”.

“We will fund the upgrade, subject to the government agreeing,” he said.

While negotiations were yet to happen, he said from a banking perspective, the country needed the runway.

“It is an interest free loan, subject to terms agreed by the government and NBV,” he said.

“The money is available. It needs to be funded immediately.”

Benefit for Vanuatu
When asked how NBV would benefit from the loan, Fimeri replied: “NBV will benefit from the fact that Vanuatu will benefit from it. It is an interest free loan.”

On Friday, Air Vanuatu issued the following statement but did not comment on the recent suspension of flights when asked to: ”Air Vanuatu senior management, captains and compliance officers have been holding daily meetings with Civil Aviation Authority of Vanuatu (CAAV) and Airports Vanuatu Limited (AVL) and remain satisfied the condition of the runway is safe to continue jet operations at present.

“Our flight captains have the final say should the extra safety measures in place, including daily mechanical ‘sweeping’ of the runway, not meet our standards.

“This week we have had one flight delayed due to the sweeping not meeting the approval of our operating captain. We will continue to demand daily sweeping and runway inspections and will not depart if our operating crew and compliance officers are not satisfied.

“Air Vanuatu operates under a safety first policy at all times and will continue to do so. Should conditions deteriorate before the planned upgrade of the runway commences, we will review services to Port Vila”.

Meanwhile, AVL are refusing to confirm or deny an incident that allegedly took place Monday. Sources informed the Daily Post that there was no response from control tower at Bauerfield when a Virgin Airlines flight bound for Australia left the airport.

It was reported to the Daily Post by a person listening to the relevant radio frequency that when the plane was ready to leave the airport the captain repeatedly attempted to contact the control tower to request clearance for departure, but there was no response.

Prolonged silence
After a prolonged silence, the plane took off without incident following communication by the captain with the pilots of other aircraft in the vicinity. One of them considered the incident more amusing than not, jokingly told the captain of the aircraft “Welcome to the Pacific!”

Sources confirmed the incident and said similar situations had occurred in the past, especially when there was only one person at the control tower and had to use the restroom.

One local pilot said such incidents often happened with local flights, but this was the first he had come across it with an international flight.

“There was really no drama only an inconvenience to the Boeing captain who after waiting for five minutes decided to take off. But if there was a major incident the captain would have filed an Incident Report, As it is, there was really no issue,” he added.

AVL’s management responded to a request from the Daily Post for a comment saying they had nothing to say on the matter as they were not aware of such an incident.

It is not known whether such an occurrence would have contributed to Virgin’s decision to suspend its service to Port Vila.

AVL also said they could not comment on reports that a manager, air traffic, Lindsay Taylor, who was said to have spent over 20 years in the control tower of Bauerfield Airport, was given only four days’ notice before having his services terminated recently.

No comment
When the Daily Post contacted AVL for a comment, it was told that management could not comment on the report. No reasons were given.

These situations could not have come at a worse time for Vanuatu and Bauerfield when the airport was in the spotlight over concerns about safety issues.

These longstanding concerns about the condition of the runway to safely handle Boeing 737 aircraft have led Air New Zealand to suspend its flights into Bauerfield.

Last weekend, the Director of Civil Aviation Authority of Vanuatu (CAAV), Joseph Niel, directed AVL to act on measures required by airline operators to ensure jet operations could continue safely at Bauerfield airport.

Air Vanuatu also said several extra precautions were now in place until permanent repair at the aerodrome begins.

The safety measures imposed by Air Vanuatu require daily “sweeping” of the runway plus regular inspections prior to and after take-off; new obstacle and runway surveys and 200m of runway to be marked at the end of runway 11 for urgent repair.

Jonas Cullwick, a former general manager of Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation (VBTC), is now a senior journalist with the Daily Post.

Daily Post in editorial clash with Vanuatu government over airport safety