Government support for regional air routes is taking flight

It's announced Golden Bay Air will be the first airline to receive a loan from funding reserved to support at-risk regional air routes.

The airline will receive around 1.1 million dollars from the 30 million dollar package,set aside from the Regional Infrastructure Fund.

Fund administrator, Kanoa, has received several loan applications from other regional airlines and says it's working to fully allocate funds as quickly as possible.

Airlines will also be invited to apply for additional funding in the coming weeks - supporting them to integrate bookings with the platforms of larger carriers.