Government temporarily waives passenger-based fees for airlines for six months, puts fee increases on hold for 12 months

The Government has released details of the first tranche of its $600 million relief package for the aviation industry.

It will include:

• Financial support to airlines to pay passenger-based government charges for the next six months ($163 million) and to cover Airways-related fees for the next six months ($37 million).
• Financial support for Airways in the face of declining revenue ($70 million).
• Any planned fee rises or pricing reviews from agencies that charge fees at the border, such as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Aviation Security Service, Ministry for Primary Industries, Customs and Airways, are to be put on hold for 12 months.
• The International Visitor Levy is not included because it is paid directly by passengers.

"We are moving quickly to help by stepping in to fund things like traffic control and security screening that the aviation industry normally pay themselves and stopping any increases to fees for the next year," Transport Minister Phil Twyford said.

"This package will see the Government temporarily fund these services while airlines experience customer decline.

"These first steps are designed to ensure the essentials of the aviation system continue to run, help airlines in New Zealand and encourage them to increase services faster during eventual recovery.

"We are also committing to working with the sector and the CAA to ensure there is no red tape stopping airlines ramping services back up when international conditions improve.

"This is just the start and further initiatives will be developed with the sector to keep critical air freight flowing and our airports open," he said.