20,000 travellers looking to cross the Tasman this holiday season have had their flights cancelled over growing uncertainty over quarantine-free flights between NZ and Australia

Auckland will come out of a three-and-a-half-month lockdown on December 3 at a time when New Zealand gives up on wiping out the Delta variant and instead starts to live COVID, officially ending its COVID-Zero strategy.

But with no sign of when quarantine-free travel would be resuming with Australia, Air New Zealand on Monday afternoon announced the cancellation of more than 1000 flights.

The flights between now and December 31 are the latest to be scrapped since New Zealand suspended the so-called travel bubble in July.

The border bubble suspension followed COVID Delta outbreaks in New South Wales and Victoria.

“This will be particularly tough news for families and friends who were hoping to catch up over Christmas…. But our hands are tied until border restrictions ease, and we receive further clarity from the New Zealand Government,” Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said, in a statement.

Currently, fully vaccinated travellers can fly from New Zealand to Australia without going through quarantine by presenting a negative PCR test, but those travelling to NZ must undertake two weeks of hotel isolation.