By Bernard Orsman for the NZ Herald
Air New Zealand has today cancelled all turboprop flights to, from or through Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Taupo airports from midday today until midday Tuesday.
The airline is also cancelling all domestic jet services in, out and through Auckland Airport tomorrow.
The cancellations have been made to keep customers, staff and aircraft safe, said Air New Zealand chief operational integrity and safety Officer Captain David Morgan.
He said the airline had cancelled five long-haul international arrivals into Auckland tomorrow as well as departures. All Tasman and Pacific Island flights tomorrow have been cancelled.
New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Singapore arrivals are operating as normal but may be required to divert to another New Zealand airport, Morgan said.
The cancellations were made on updated weather reports showing Cyclone Gabrielle will bring very strong winds and heavy rainfall to Auckland tomorrow and Tuesday.
Given that the trajectory and strength of cyclone Gabrielle are fluid, customers should prepare for further flight cancellations, Air New Zealand said in an update early this afternoon.
The airline is asking customers to refrain from calling its contact centre as the company is working hard to accommodate customers. It recommends people contact its social media channels, WhatsApp or postpone calling for a few days.
To help customers once normal operations resume, Air New Zealand is exploring the use of larger aircraft and increasing capacity to destinations that need it the most.
At Auckland Airport’s international terminal this morning, a baggage belt impacted by the January 27 flooding was unavailable for 30 minutes this morning. An airport spokeswoman said it was back up and running quickly following work by maintenance crews.
Air New Zealand will provide further updates to customers directly via the Air New Zealand app and post updates on its travel alerts page. Updates in the app may take some time as the airline works through the cancellations.
Update: Auckland and international flight cancellations due to cyclone Gabrielle
- Multiple long-haul international departures and arrivals into Auckland on Monday cancelled.
- Tasman and Pacific Island flights on Monday cancelled.
- All domestic jet services into, out of, or through Auckland tomorrow cancelled.
- Turboprop flight cancellations extended from midday today through to midday Tuesday.
- Further flight cancellations possible if extreme weather persists.
- Please follow the travel alerts page for updates.
Flight cancellations recap
- All flights to or from Kerikeri and Whangarei between midday today and Tuesday morning are cancelled.
- All turboprop flights to, from or through Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Taupo from midday today through to midday Tuesday are cancelled.
- The last flights into Hamilton and Tauranga tonight are cancelled.
- Five long-haul international arrivals into Auckland on Monday are cancelled – New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Singapore still operating.
- Long-haul international departures from Auckland on Monday are cancelled.
- All Tasman and Pacific Island flights tomorrow are cancelled.