Wellington, Mar 22 (IANS): The New Zealand government has extended support to the aviation sector through the end of October to help keep the country connected with trade partners and maintain international passenger services, Transport Minister Michael Wood said on Monday.

The government moved swiftly to keep freight flowing at the beginning of the pandemic to help support the economic recovery, Xinhua news agency quoted Wood as saying in a statement.

"Airfreight capacity is at 90 per cent of pre-Covid levels thanks to the International Airfreight Capacity (IAFC) scheme, which has meant our exporters have been able to get their products to market on time, and critical goods like medicine have been able to come into New Zealand," he said.

Since May 2020, the government support has enabled over 6,000 flights carrying over 120,000 tonnes of airfreight worth NZ$8 billion ($5 billion), the Minister said.

He added that more than 60,000 people have returned to New Zealand on flights supported by the scheme.

"International air travel essentially shut down as the virus spread, so the threat of isolation from global partners was very real.

"Extending support gives a predictable and regular schedule of air services to safeguard New Zealand's international connectivity," Wood said.

In March 2020, the government had set aside NZ$600 million for an aviation relief package as part of the NZ$12.1 billion Covid-19 support package.