He says there is clearly demand for travel and people would welcome a state by state opening.

‘If people could travel to Western Australia now, for example, they would take that opportunity. There is pent up demand for New Zealanders to travel overseas and they are looking beyond the flop and drop experience.

‘In the end it comes down to air capacity and that is why the eastern seaboard is so critical – not only for the outbound sector but also inbound travel and both outbound and inbound cargo. They all go hand in hand for an airline route to be profitable – the New Zealand economy needs that as well.’