24 Jan 2018

Airline stops Wellington-Canberra flights

7:58 pm on 24 January 2018

Singapore Airlines is to stop direct flights between Wellington and Canberra, choosing to fly to Melbourne on the way to Singapore instead.

A Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200 lands at Wellington Airport.

A Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200 lands at Wellington Airport. Photo: RNZ / Michael Cropp

The connection between Canberra and Wellington began in September 2016, operating four flights a week.

Today the airline announced it would change the route to stop in Melbourne, due to demand for flights to Wellington.

Singapore Airlines general manager New Zealand, Simon Turcotte, said the changed departure times would also help improve connections to London and Delhi.

The changed flight schedule will begin on 1 May, with tickets on sale from tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Wellington's regional development agency has confirmed a subsidy paid to Singapore Airlines for flights between Wellington and Canberra will continue, despite the service being scrapped.

When it began in 2016, the Wellington City Council confirmed it was paying the airline a subsidy, at the time reported to be worth up to $800,000 a year.

The council confirmed the payment, but not the dollar amount.

The Wellington Regional Development Agency has confirmed the original agreement was for a long-haul service to Singapore via Australia, and as that has not changed, neither have the particulars of the agreement.

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