Air New Zealand has put a hold on new flight bookings to Australia for nearly a month.
It suspended reservations for Aussie destinations until 28 August due to government restrictions.
Flights into Sydney and Brisbane are limited to 30 passengers per plane and international flights into Melbourne have been suspended until at least 8 August.
Melbourne is in the third week of a partial lockdown.
All residents in Victoria have been ordered to wear face masks as 723 new coronavirus cases and 13 deaths were reported across the state on Thursday.
That is the highest ever single day increase.
"We know there are people wanting to head home to Australia at this time and we’ll be ready to fly them as soon as we are able to accommodate more passengers," said Air NZ Commercial and Customer Officer Cam Wallace.
The decision to suspend new bookings will ‘help prevent disruptions to customer journeys should these restrictions be extended,’ the airline said.
by Ray Montgomery, Asia Pacific editor
