Wellington.Scoop » 6000 passengers delayed after low cloud closes ...

Report from RNZ
Hundreds of people were queuing at Wellington and Auckland airports to rebook flights after low cloud in the capital led to mass cancellations today.

Wellington Airport said almost 100 flights and 6000 passengers were affected.

Wellington Airport external relations manager Phil Rennie said close to 100 flights had been cancelled today, while about 16 had been diverted.

“So it’s been a pretty long and frustrating day for a lot of people here at the airport,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of people waiting here very frustrated, but also very patient they understand there’s not a lot we can do about the weather.”

He said airlines were warning passengers that it could take several days to clear the backlog because they were “pretty” booked up over the next few days.

The airport staff would be putting on some pizzas for those who were stranded at Wellington Airport for the night, he said.

“We don’t think there’ll be too many people that need to stay the night but if there are we will have blankets and pillows and food available for people.”

He said the weather had been forecast to clear about midday but that did not happen. It was quite unusual since generally at this time of the year Wellington was very windy.

Earlier Report from RNZ
Some regional flights at Wellington Airport were cancelled this morning due to low visibility.

Air New Zealand cancelled 10 regional flights due to the weather.

Golden Bay also cancelled its flights between Wellington and Tākaka.

Sounds Air listed some of its flights as having an indefinite delay.

Wellington Airport told passengers to check directly with their airlines for updates on their flights.

The low cloud would gradually improve through the day, MetService said.

Report from RNZ – November 20
Flights resumed at Wellington Airport this morning after low fog cancelled nearly 40 flights on Sunday. Despite clear skies, some delays persist.

Yesterday 29 Air New Zealand flights and six Sounds Air flights were prevented from taking off or landing due to low fog at the airport.

A spokesperson for Wellington Airport said the fog had cleared today and flights were now able operate normally.

But there could be flow on disruptions from Sunday.

The airport recommended passengers check directly with their airlines for updates.

Air New Zealand said the weather disruption meant a number of its aircraft were out of position this morning.

“As a result, a number of flights out of Wellington this morning were cancelled,” chief operating officer Alex Marren said.

Marren said Air New Zealand was working to rebook customers, but due to limited availability, some may not be able to travel for a day or two.

Marren said customers no longer wish to travel or who couldn’t find a suitable flight would be able to hold their fare in credit.