Air Rarotonga have had a booming busy festive season with Aitutaki proving to be a popular holiday destination for Rarotonga locals who have made the most of local deals before the borders open to tourists on Thursday next week.

The airline has been catering mainly local residents in the past couple of months for a tropical getaway to the less bustling outer islands.

They have been operating two to three flights daily on most days throughout the Christmas and New Year season, with special holiday deals attracting families, couples and friends to make the most of their holiday time.

Air Rarotonga managing director Ewan Smith said: “A lot of local residents have taken the opportunity to visit the Pa Enua over the past year.”

He added that their Southern and Northern group tours which they have discounted over the border closure period had proven very popular also.

With no overseas visitors coming into the country to explore the Pa Enua, Smith said that local resident travellers from Rarotonga have been filling the seats on their planes to keep them flying during the downtime.

The airline is missing the usual New Zealand and Australia based Cook Islanders returning for Christmas as well as visitors from the USA and Europe and is looking forward to the borders reopening soon, bringing their international customers back.

Air Rarotonga has been operating at between 25 per cent and 40 per cent of their normal capacity during the border closure.