Air NZ suspends outlook as borders stay shut

Air New Zealand is losing confidence over the months ahead.

On Thursday (August 26) the airline suspended its earnings outlook for fiscal 2022.

Closed international borders are limiting its ability to recover from the global travel slump.

The airline was also hit by last month's suspension of quarantine-free travel to Australia.

All told, Air New Zealand saw a 36% drop in passenger numbers over the 2021 fiscal year.

That drove it to an annual loss of almost $307 million - about five times worse than a year before.

Now the company says next year's deficit is likely to be comparable.

New Zealand's international borders remain closed, and the country went into a new lockdown last week.

That leaves its main airline flying only a skeleton domestic network.