All “Air transport” topics

For a nation at the far edge of global trade routes, air connectivity is critical to New Zealand’s economy. Every day, aviation carries high-value exports to key markets and brings tourists, students, and investors back home. That same connectivity is heavily reliant on fossil fuel, however. Aviation is responsible for roughly 2 to 3 per cent of global carbon emissions, and one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise.

On 5 April 2025, New Zealand’s aviation regulatory landscape underwent its most significant transformation in over three decades. The Civil Aviation Act 2023 (the 2023 Act) replaced the Civil Aviation Act 1990 (the 1990 Act), streamlining outdated legislation while expanding regulatory tools to address the realities of 21st-century aviation, from drone regulation and airport master planning to climate change and safety-sensitive operations.

The Ministry of Transport has launched a new report, the Transport Network Performance Report, providing a comprehensive picture of how Aotearoa New Zealand’s air, road, rail, port and public transport networks are performing at a national level.

A new multi-million-dollar aircraft designed by Kiwi aeronautical engineers is set to help governments and humanitarian organisations save lives during natural disasters and fight the impact of climate change in some of the world’s most inaccessible regions.

Following the cancellation of 509 flights, Air New Zealand’s international and domestic network was back up and running on 15 February. Flying into heavily impacted regions New Plymouth, Napier and Gisborne had also resumed with some minor disruptions as the airline worked through operationalising the routes.

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Innovation in New Zealand’s aviation and urban air mobility industries have come on in leaps and bounds, and the latest Intelligent Transport Systems New Zealand (ITSNZ) webinar panel focussed on how urban air mobility will integrate into our country’s existing transport network.

James Paul looks at the solutions the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment proposes to redesign the tourism industry.

The $330 million International Air Freight Capacity (IAFC) Scheme was announced on 1 May 2020 as part of the Government’s $12.1 billion Covid-19 support package.

How did New Zealand’s transport modes fare during the lockdown period, and how are they recovering post Covid-19? How did they adapt to the requirements for social distancing and contactless payments? What innovations did they introduce and what role did technology play? CILT NZ spoke to a number of organisations and operators across the modes – air, sea, road and rail – to find out.