Air New Zealand is reuniting friends and aiga (family) in Samoa, thanks to the re-opening of the Pacific Island nation this week.

After more than two years of the country’s borders being closed, Flight NZ990 touched down in Apia on Tuesday (Aug 2), giving those on the booked-out flight an opportunity to reunite with their loved ones.

Air New Zealand’s Country Manager Samoa, Karen Gatt, said the airline has seen strong demand for August, with flights sold out for the whole month and a large number of family group bookings.

“Demand for flights continues to be strong right through to the Christmas and school holiday period, as customers want to spend the festive season with their aiga, something many of them haven’t been able to do during the pandemic,” she said.

Apia is the latest in a string of Air New Zealand’s Pacific Island ports to reopen over the last few weeks, including New Caledonia, Tahiti and Tonga.

From this week (Aug 2), the airline will operate four passenger flights a week to Samoa, increasing to five flights a week from October, and daily from November as demand is expected to grow.