Scheduled services have been operated from Queenstown to Te Anau in the past, with Mount Cook Airline's Hawker Siddeley HS 748 and de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft. Air New Zealand ATR-72 aircraft operated when the HS748s and DHC-6s were retired but low passenger numbers saw the service cancelled. Air New Zealand had plans to resume a daily Christchurch service prior to the 2011 earthquake but cancelled the proposal due to a drop in tourist numbers. Since then, the possibility of resuming scheduled air services to Te Anau is occasionally brought up, such as in 2013 when Air New Zealand mentioned the possibility of extending an afternoon return flight from Christchurch to Queenstown on to Te Anau.