Mayor upset at axing of air link to Christchurch

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel is disappointed to learn from media that Air New Zealand is withdrawing its direct service to Christchurch from Tokyo.

"Air New Zealand knows that images from the South Island are the magnet that attract the Japanese tourist more than anything else. And yet they are essentially removing the last long haul service into Christchurch, the international gateway to the South Island," she says.

"This makes no sense. The advantage to the international traveller is they touch down where they want to be.

"Nobody is asking Air New Zealand to lose money - this is a profitable service and it has been growing in recent times with high load factors," says Mayor Dalziel.

"Air New Zealand is happy to use images of the South Island to attract the tourists, but not to fly them directly into the South Island. This decision is going to be detrimental to Christchurch and will have flow on effects for the rest of the South Island."